I'm stuck in a baking rut, help me Edenites!
My current favourite cookie recipe is an adult version of gingersnaps.
Ginger Slut Cookies
Ingredients:
3/4 cup vegetable shortening
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar (dark brown)
1 large egg, beaten lightly
1/4 cup unsulfured molasses (full-flavoured dark)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 to 5 tablespoons crystallized ginger, chopped fine
Black or Cayenne pepper
granulated sugar (or turbinado? sugar) for dipping the balls of dough
Preparation:
In a great big bowl, cream shortening and brown sugar until fluffy, then stir in the egg (or pumpkin) and the molasses. If you are adding the crystallized ginger, add it now.
In a second bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt. Add the flour mixture into the shortening mixture in batches, stirring well between each batch, until the dough is blended well. The finished cookie dough will be stiff but workable. Cover it and chill it until it is very firm — at least one hour, but I usually make the dough up before I go to bed and let it chill overnight.
Roll even tablespoons of the dough into balls and press one side of each ball into the turbinado or granulated sugar. I like to mix two separate little saucers of red or green sugar crystals mixed with sugar, so that I have three Christmasy colors, but these cookies look great with plain granulated sugar and best of all with coarse, caramel-coloured turbinado sugar.
Arrange the balls with the sugar sides up on greased baking sheets. Spacing them out isn't terribly important, as they barely spread.. Bake them on the middle rack of a preheated 375°F oven for 10 or 12 minutes
These cookies have a variable texture – underbake them if you like chewy cookies, give them an extra minute or two if you want them crispier, like ginger snaps. About eleven minutes is perfect.
This recipe makes around 40 cookies, which is a lot.
Notes:
I adore richly-flavoured spice cookies and if you do too, there are a few things I highly recommend adding to this recipe. As I said, coarse turbinado sugar for dipping adds a more rustic look and a little flavour. I use full-flavoured dark molasses for maximum color and taste, and I never make these with anything other than dark brown sugar. This gives the cookies a great depth of flavour. Crystallized ginger is the perfect accent to these, as it candies up during baking and merges with the finished cookie for bursts of spicy flavour. Add it like you’d add chocolate chips to any other cookie. I also like to give my flour mixture a few twists of fresh-ground pepper and a dash of cayenne.
My current favourite cookie recipe is an adult version of gingersnaps.
Ginger Slut Cookies
Ingredients:
3/4 cup vegetable shortening
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar (dark brown)
1 large egg, beaten lightly
1/4 cup unsulfured molasses (full-flavoured dark)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 to 5 tablespoons crystallized ginger, chopped fine
Black or Cayenne pepper
granulated sugar (or turbinado? sugar) for dipping the balls of dough
Preparation:
In a great big bowl, cream shortening and brown sugar until fluffy, then stir in the egg (or pumpkin) and the molasses. If you are adding the crystallized ginger, add it now.
In a second bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt. Add the flour mixture into the shortening mixture in batches, stirring well between each batch, until the dough is blended well. The finished cookie dough will be stiff but workable. Cover it and chill it until it is very firm — at least one hour, but I usually make the dough up before I go to bed and let it chill overnight.
Roll even tablespoons of the dough into balls and press one side of each ball into the turbinado or granulated sugar. I like to mix two separate little saucers of red or green sugar crystals mixed with sugar, so that I have three Christmasy colors, but these cookies look great with plain granulated sugar and best of all with coarse, caramel-coloured turbinado sugar.
Arrange the balls with the sugar sides up on greased baking sheets. Spacing them out isn't terribly important, as they barely spread.. Bake them on the middle rack of a preheated 375°F oven for 10 or 12 minutes
These cookies have a variable texture – underbake them if you like chewy cookies, give them an extra minute or two if you want them crispier, like ginger snaps. About eleven minutes is perfect.
This recipe makes around 40 cookies, which is a lot.
Notes:
I adore richly-flavoured spice cookies and if you do too, there are a few things I highly recommend adding to this recipe. As I said, coarse turbinado sugar for dipping adds a more rustic look and a little flavour. I use full-flavoured dark molasses for maximum color and taste, and I never make these with anything other than dark brown sugar. This gives the cookies a great depth of flavour. Crystallized ginger is the perfect accent to these, as it candies up during baking and merges with the finished cookie for bursts of spicy flavour. Add it like you’d add chocolate chips to any other cookie. I also like to give my flour mixture a few twists of fresh-ground pepper and a dash of cayenne.
