Old-Time Gingersnaps

I don’t know about you guys, but I love, love, LOVE ginger cookies.  I always have.  Even as a little girl, I remember knowing it was Christmas when molasses crinkles and ginger cookies were in the oven.  As an adult, I can’t always wait for the holidays to bake them.  They’re just so delicious and so comforting.  

Of course, my mom knows of my love for gingersnaps, gingerbread, ginger ale, and anything else ginger.  Who do you think made all those molasses crinkles for me and with me when I was younger?  Now I’m grown up, out of the house, and fully capable of making my own ginger cookies, but that didn’t stop her from buying me an entire gingerbread cookbook for Christmas a couple of years ago.  Everything I’ve made from it has been perfection, including these cookies.

Old-Time Gingersnaps

from Jennifer Lindner McGlinn, Gingerbread: Timeless Recipes for Cakes, Cookies, Desserts, Ice Cream, and Candy

Ingredients:

2 c. all-purpose flour

2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. ground ginger

1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

3/4 tsp. ground cloves

3/4 c (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 c. sugar, plus more for rolling (I used turbinado for rolling)

1/4 c. molasses

1 large egg

Directions:

1.  Whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves in a medium bowl.

2.  Combine butter, 1 c. sugar, and molasses in a large bowl and stir to combine.  Drop in the egg, mixing until incorporated.  Gradually stir in the flour mixture, mixing to form a soft dough.  Cover with plastic wrap and set in the refrigerator to chill for at least 2 hours to overnight.

3.  When dough is chilled, position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.  Line two baking sheets with silicone mats or parchment paper.

4.  Using a small cookie scoop or by hand, shape the dough into walnut-sized balls.  Roll in sugar and arrange about 2 inches apart on the baking sheets.  Bake 10-12 minutes, depending on if you want soft or crispy cookies.  Regardless, cookies will spread, lightly brown, and form moist-looking cracks.

5.  Cool the cookies on the baking sheets on wire racks about 1 minute.  Remove from pans and cool completely.  Store in an airtight container up to four days.

one year ago: rosemary chicken with two corn polenta

two years ago: banana-oat muffins with apricots

three years ago: classic roasted chicken with vegetables