Oh my goodness!  Where did the time go!  My favorite time of the year is finally here.  Not because of all the presents (okay, okay, maybe some presents) but, because I get to do all this wonderful baking and more importantly, I get to share the recipes with you.

My theme this year – as always, is small treats with big tastes.  Remember, I want you to  try everything on my sweet table, and because I love to bake, there will be lots!  I will give you the yield for the size I made, you can always ignore my mini sized treats and make them larger.  The yield will be different but the taste will be the same –  incredible!  Some will seem like recipes you have tried before but I urge you to try these variations on some classics.  Unusual flavor combinations in each cookie.  So let’s get started with my Ginger Molasses Cookie.  

I picked this cookie as the starter cookie as everything about it screams holidays!  The aroma of the kitchen while these baked was incredible.  You definitely want to bake these if you are doing an open house, it will drive potential buyers crazy!  It has loads of ginger in it, complemented nicely with the molasses and the crispy sugar crust.  I don’t have any affiliations with any molasses company out there, but I do like Crosby’s Fancy molasses or the President’s Choice variety, but use whatever brand you prefer.  Don’t use blackstrap though, it is too strong and will completely alter the taste of the final product.  I’m sure there is a purpose for blackstrap; I just haven’t found it yet.

Fresh ginger – a lot of it, accounts for that immediate hit of ginger in the first bite.  I picked a nice fat thumb-size piece of ginger and used the big holes of a box grater to grate the ginger.  I was hoping to get thin even shavings (which I could have done had I used my knife, but I was hoping to share a miracle of Christmas baking tip with you, you know – “Chef discovers new way to get ginger shavings using a box grater!”), but got paste and juice instead.  Still, good to go, juice and all!  Fresh ginger powder – emphasis on the fresh.  If it doesn’t smell like ginger please go buy some more – or use more fresh ginger.  Other spices, cinnamon and allspice round off the spice mix.  They make this a memory invoking cookie.  I got about 150 cookies (yes 150)  from this recipe.  Each dough ball was the size of a nickel (no scientific measurement, just eyeballing and common sense please), when raw and round, but after flattening with a fork and baking, the grow to approximately 1 1/2″ to 2″  in diameter.  Baking time – 16 minutes, but you know the drill (and your oven) 14 – 18 minutes is the range.  You’ll know they are ready when you see the familiar cracks that gingerbread cookies tend to have.  Let them cool before removing them from the tray.  This is a crunchy cookie, just the way gingerbread cookies should be!  

Get ready for more, but in the meantime, make this one.  It’s okay to snack on one or two, there are 150+ of them, but freeze them well wrapped for your Christmas Sweet table.  As always – enjoy!

Ingredients

  • 2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 6 ounces unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup molasses
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 tablespoons fresh grated ginger
  • Granulated sugar, for rolling the dough balls in

Directions

  1. Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and spices together – set aside.  This really makes it easier to mix with the wet ingredients 
  2. Using a stand or hand mixer, beat the butter, brown sugar and molasses until light and fluffy – about 5 minutes in a stand mixer, longer with a hand mixer 
  3. Add the egg and fresh ginger paste and beat until well mixed
  4. With the mixer on low, slowly add the sifted flour mixture – mix until well combined
  5. Transfer the dough to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 1 hour, better yet – overnight.  This is a sticky dough and needs to be chilled to be manageable
  6. When ready to bake, remove the dough from the fridge and preheat the oven to 350f
  7. Line 2 baking trays with parchment and set aside
  8. Add 1/2 cup of sugar to a shallow bowl
  9. Using a teaspoon, scoop enough dough to make a nickel sized ball (or whatever size you want) – using your palms, roll the dough into a ball and drop the dough into the sugar, roll to coat and place on the sheet of parchment – continue until the dough is finished.  For smaller balls, space 1″ apart, for larger balls of dough, space 2″ apart
  10. Using a fork, press down to flatten the cookies to about 1/4″ thickness.  It will leave beautiful ridge marks in the cookie which will completely disappear when baked
  11. Bake for 16 minutes, rotating trays halfway through baking

Tips and tricks

  • Keep your palms moist to prevent the dough from sticking to them.  Dip in water and lightly dry
  • You can also try placing a larger portion of the dough onto your fingers in one hand, using your other hand, grab off a small piece, roll it using your palms and drop in sugar – continue.  The process becomes easier the more you do this, kind of like when you make gnocchi. 
  • You could also place a portion of the dough between parchment and make it into a log shape using the parchment paper to keep the size even. Freeze for 1 hour and slice into thin slices, dust with sugar and bake according to directions