Your new ginger love.
If you’re looking for sturdy structural gingerbread for confectionery holiday constructions, these cookies are not it. Neither are they ginger snaps—there is no “snap” to be found in this recipe other than, maybe, the eureka kind you do before you go, “This is it!”
These cookies are quick to whip up and full of those holiday spices that make your neighbors jealous because your house will smell so amazing. The recipe makes about two and a half dozen cookies, you may opt to double the recipe the second time you make them because they’re seriously that good.
The ingredients:
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter or margarine, softened to room temperature
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
1/4 cup molasses
2 additional tablespoons white sugar in a separate dish for rolling
The directions:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Sift together the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, beat together the butter/margarine and sugar until lighter in color and fluffy (for new bakers: this is called “creaming”). Beat in the egg, then mix in the water and molasses. Finally, mix the dry ingredients into your molasses/butter mixture until fully incorporated (dough may seem a little crumbly, this is fine as long as it holds together when pinched.)
For best results, place dough in refrigerator for 20-30 minutes and refrigerate leftover dough between batches. (This step is optional but recommended, it helps the dough hold its shape during baking.)
Roll dough into one inch balls, about the size of an unshelled walnut or a shooter marble, then roll them around in a dish of sugar until coated.
Place the cookies two inches apart onto an ungreased (or silpat lined) cookie sheet. You can flatten them slightly at this step if you’re nervous about them spreading.
Bake in your preheated oven for 8-10 minutes. Allow cookies to cool for a couple of minutes before moving them from the cookie sheet to a cooling rack (moving them immediately will cause them to fall apart—they are very soft!) and allow to cool completely.
That’s it! Super easy. Go ahead and eat one (or three) and store the rest in an airtight container. They keep their softness for about a week stored this way (but I sincerely doubt they’ll last that long).
Happy Cooking!
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