Apple pie, gingerbread and gels

Oh. My. God. It has been MONTHS since I've actually cooked something, so I'm happy to be back in my kitchen again. This week is about Christmas cookies and apple pie. The usual gingerbread cookies seemed too boring for my first dish after this long hiatus, and so did apple pie, so I decided to combine the two. There were 3 main elements in the dish - the cookie, the centre and the icing.

The cookie - I quite liked these cookies, although I got mixed reviews as some of my guests preferred a more crunchy cookie as opposed to the traditional texture of gingerbread. Looking back, it may have actually worked better with a more crunchy cookie, but I can say that the texture was just right for anyone who likes gingerbread. Anyways, the recipe was the basic gingerbread recipe given below. The difference was that I added the flavour of apple-cranberry pie. To do this, I poached some apples and cranberries in the oven with a bit of sugar and some cinnamon. Then, I blended it up until it was extremely smooth and incorporated it into the dough. Since the puree is naturally thick, it doesn't require much extra flour, and instead it was more about balancing the flavours. This can only be done by taste, so I would add cinnamon and ginger as needed. A suggestion is to make this recipe with cold butter and possibly use between 25 and 50% less butter to get a crunchier cookie. Honestly though, I wouldn't even change that, since the texture of the gingerbread is actually perfect for gingerbread aficionados.

When the cookies come out of the oven, press a hole into the centre using the bottom of a small bowl or cup measure so you can fill that part with the centre when you're serving the cookies. Don't wait more than 3 hours before serving so you can keep the ideal texture. 

The centre - The centre is all about flavour. It's a white wine-apple centre with a hint of cranberry. Here, the shape of the apple matters a lot, so make sure to cut the apples into relatively equally sized cubes when preparing. Use about 100ml of white wine for each apple used. For the full recipe of gingerbread, I would recommend between 3 and 4 apples. Add some sugar into the wine before poaching, but keep it low, as this is the element that breaks the sweetness in the rest of the dish. Now poach the apples until the outside has softened but they are still somewhat chewy. Strain the white wine into a jar and store the apples in the fridge for at least 12 hours. Meanwhile, pour the white wine into a saucepan and top it off with more wine - exactly the same amount as was used initially. Therefore, the amount of white wine should have doubled by now. Heat the white wine until it boils (consequently removing the alcohol as well, so this can be eaten by anybody) and add about 1.5g of agar agar for every 200ml of wine used. Then, let it set in the fridge for a few hours. 

When you're ready to serve, blend the white wine jelly until it is COMPLETELY smooth. Chop up a few cranberries extremely finely and mix them into the gel to get a speckled look, and then mix the gel with the apples. Spoon into the center of each cookie, making sure it doesn't overflow. Note...this center will set after about a day, so you may have to reduce the amount of agar agar used if you need it to remain liquid for a longer period, but know that this will affect the structure of the cookie as well.

The icing - The icing is the easiest part. Put some sugar in a saucepan and add a TINY splash of water. It should become very thick and see-through. Beat an egg white until slightly frothy, and then while continuing to beat, slowly pour in the hot sugar, making sure to beat fast with a hand blender and to pour extremely slowly so the eggs don't cook. Then, keep beating until the icing is thick and viscous, but not bubbly. Add some vanilla extract and the beans of about 2 vanilla beans and leave it to cool for about 30 minutes. Then, ice the cookies and wait a few minutes until the icing has set. 

The final cookies should look like an apple pie with a gingerbread crust, and should taste like gingerbread, white wine and apples with a slight hint of cranberry. I loved these cookies, and so did my family. They're perfect for christmas or new-year's eve when people want a nice sweet treat. 

Also, MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY!!

Recipe - Gingerbread cookies: https://www.blessthismessplease.com/perfect-gingerbread-cookies-without-molasses/