Sunday, November 18, 2007

Sweet and Spicy

Oh, yes, the adjectives often used to describe me also describe one of my favorite holiday cookies.

Ginger Cookies are a must have in my house around the holiday. NOT the thin little snap type (while I do like those with pumpkin dip) I need a cookie to sink my teeth into and these cookies fit the bill.



I love how the ginger/cloves/cinnamon balance out the delicate sugar "crust" on these cookies. These cookies are so easy to whip up and make your house smell wonderful while they are baking. I will admit, I have not tried any other ginger cookies but don't feel the need to. The texture of these cookies is dense yet chewy and because they are rolled in sugar, the outside has nice crispness to them. These are not thin like a snap, but rather a nice hearty cookie that packs a mouthful of flavor. These are made with shortening, I am not sure they would retain their great texture if you used butter, but it is worth a shot if you insist on avoiding shortening.

Ginger Cookies
from Better Homes and Gardens
4 1/2 cups flour
4 tsps ground ginger
2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
1 1/2 cups shortening (I used butter flavor transfat free Crisco)
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup Molasses (NOT Blackstrap)
3/4 cup sugar for rolling


Preheat oven to 350.
In large mixing bowl wisk flour, baking soda, ginger, salt, cinnamon and cloves. Set aside.

In mixing bowl beat shortening for 30 seconds. Add sugar and beat until well combined. Beat in eggs and molasses until combined, scraping sides of bowl as needed. Add as much of the flour mixture as your mixer can handle and fold in the rest by hand.
Shape dough into 2 inch balls and roll into 3/4 cup sugar just to coat. Place on baking sheet at least 2 inches apart. Press down slightly on dough balls so they evenly bake and spread out.

Bake for 10-12 minutes or until bottoms are LIGHLTY brown and tops are puffed. Do NOT overbake. Cook on cookie sheet for 2 minutes and finish cooling on wire rack.

**I made mine smaller using my medium size scooper from Pampered Chef and baked for about 7-8 minutes.






3 comments:

Kayte said...

these look incredible! i have been wanting to make some ginger cookies. i think i'll give this recipe a try!

Anonymous said...

I LOVE ginger cookies and these look absolutely AMAZING! Talk about licking the screen! Yum!!

Jaime said...

i know what you mean about ginger snaps vs ginger cookies! these look great! try adding some finely chopped crystallized ginger for an even bigger flavor :)