gingersnap cups * hello from thailand

hello!

I forgot to mention that I'm going to be in Chiang Mai & Phuket, Thailand and in Singapore through the 16th, so updates might be random and far between. I will, however, be dutifully eating my way through each city - for my readers' sakes, I promise! Fortunately, I have some recipes in my backup file to post so that I can poorly disguise shamelessly showing off the awesomeness of my travels.

This is a recipe I made a million years ago from an Everyday Food magazine (thanks, Martha!) that never fails to impress. Just put a couple of scoops of ice cream in the middle et voila - fancy summerish dessert. Be really careful not to let it burn in the oven - it happens quickly!

fancy gingersnap ice cream cups

1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons dark corn syrup
Non stick cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with rack in center. In a bowl, whisk together flour and ginger. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add sugar and syrup; cook over low heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, until sugar dissolves, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in flour mixture. Cool completely, about 25 minutes.

Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray so the batter will spread out evenly. If you use an insulated sheet, you will need to increase the cooking time by a few minutes. Making two cookies at a time, drop batter by level tablespoons onto sheet, at least 6 inches apart. Bake until batter spreads and is golden in center (edges may be darker), 9 to 11 minutes (cooking times will be shorter for later batches). Coat baking sheet with more cooking spray before each batch.

Let cool 30 to 40 seconds. Working quickly with a wide metal spatula, slide cookies onto two overturned cups; mold with your fingers. Cool completely; remove from cups. Store in airtight container up to 1 week.

*****

For those who care, hello from Chiang Mai! My mom's been living here for a year and change, and I've finally come to visit - basically to get massages and eat ridiculously sweet mangoes every day. And of course overwhelm my poor stomach with the spiciest most delicious Thai food... $1 noodles, anyone? Here's a few photos!

Che Ba Mau (chewy green things in coconut milk - dessert)
Crispy pancake thing filled with rice paper, pork and vegetables
Grilled pork and rice paper wraps
Deep fried pork wrapped in betel leaves
Lettuce accompaniment
Midnight snack - tart green mango and fresh water chestnuts

Our Vietnamese meal, the first 5 photos, was a whopping $9 and the last we got from a market - the fresh water chestnuts are delicious! Here's the real shocker: like the legendary schnozzberries, fresh water chestnuts TASTE LIKE CHESTNUTS. It's the craziest thing, innit?