Favorite Fall Recipes
My friend Claire Reishman is a true Renaissance woman. When she's not throwing beautiful clay pieces on her potter's wheel in Sewanee, TN (pieces we are proud to carry at Reed Smythe), she's fox hunting in Giles County, reading aloud over Zoom to her adorable grandchildren, or cooking her way through new cookbooks from front to back (I don't think I've ever eaten the same meal twice at Claire's table).
Two things do show up on Claire's menu again and again, and I think they are the perfect combination for dessert after a hearty fall supper. I hope you'll enjoy Claire's lemon curd (served best in her hand-thrown cups) and ginger snaps at your next autumn meal.
Gingersnaps
1.5 c margarine, melted
1/2 c molasses
2 c sugar
2 large eggs
4.5 c flour (approximately)
4 t baking soda
2 t cinnamon
4.t t ginger (powdered)
2 t ground cloves
pinch salt
Using an electric mixer, mix molasses, sugar, eggs, and melted margarine. Add other ingredients , sifted together, with mixer on low. Dough should be stiff enough not to stick to your hands. Refrigerate for several hours. When ready to bake, roll "marbles" of dough (about 3/4" in diameter) into balls, coat with sugar, and bake on a cookie sheet at 350 for 14 minutes. [Any remaining dough can be rolled into "logs" about 1" thick and refrigerated until ready for rolling into balls and baking.]
Lemon Curd
1.5 c sugar
3 juicy lemons, zested
2 sticks butter
4 eggs
In a non-reactive saucepan, combine sugar, lemon juice, and zested rind. Add butter and simmer until all is melted and sugar is no longer visible.
Whisk 4 eggs until light and slowly dribble hot lemon mixture slowly into eggs, whisking vigorously. Be careful as eggs will curdle if you go too fast. Return mixture to top of double boiler and simmer until it thickens. Cool and refrigerate.
