Today we made gingersnaps and as soon as I bit into the first one I knew I’d found heaven. We were supposed to be writing a letter to Santa according to my Advent Calendar (bucket list style), but sometimes you just gotta go with the flow of a demanding preschooler. So cookies it was.
I love baking cookies when I manage to get around to it, but I love eating them more. But I’ve got to be careful. I have a tendency to go overboard with sugar and today was no exception. They were barely out of the oven and this mama had to have one and soon enough I’d had five and I could feel the sugar kicking in. Even my 4-year-old who was eager to taste one, had more patience than me. Sigh…there’s always tomorrow.
The Perfect Gingersnaps
The recipe I used was originally published on madetobemomma and is delectable, aside from the massive amounts of sugar. But then again, that’s true with most cookie recipes like this one.
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• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
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• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
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• 1 teaspoon baking soda
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• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
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• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
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• 1/4 teaspoon salt
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• 3/4 cup butter, softened
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• 1 cup white sugar
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• 1 egg
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• 1 tablespoon water
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• 1/4 cup molasses
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• 4 tablespoons white sugar
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1. Preheat oven to 350F.
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2. SIFT together the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Set aside.
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3. In a large bowl or mixmaster, cream together the butter and 1 cup sugar until light and fluffy.
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4. Beat in the egg, then stir in the water and molasses.
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5. Gradually stir the sifted ingredients into the molasses mixture.
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6. Shape the dough into walnut sized balls, and roll them in the remaining sugar.
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7. Place the cookies 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. You don’t need to flatten them.
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8. Bake for 10-12 minutes in the preheated oven.
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9. Allow cookies to cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
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10. Makes approximately 30 cookies. Store in an airtight container ot if you want them crispy, on a plate. But they WILL get eaten.
I’m going to try this recipe I pinned on my Christmas board next as it’s gluten-free and vegan which is better for the gut anyway.
You know how they always say that homemade is so much better? I’ve never had homemade gingersnaps before and was skeptical that this recipe could outdo my favourite at Starbucks. But I tell you what, now that I’ve had these I will be hard pressed not to pine for them from here on in.
Sticking to the recipe
I followed the recipe pretty much to the letter, the only caveat would be using a sweet appliance like the the KitchenAid mixmaster. I don’t have one, yet. An electric hand mixer would be grand too, just anything that gives your wrists a break.
Hint hint. – I can’t believe this but I’m actually requesting something practical for Christmas this year. I think my partner is going to have a heart attack.
Seriously though, I’m either getting too long in the tooth or creaming butter and sugar together is just way too much work. My son helped me which was nice. He put all his superhero strength into it and managed far better than I did.
The only other thing I would change is to vary the sizes of the final product, it’s nice to have a variety of sizes, the bigger the more chewy they are and if you like them crispy, smaller is better.
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