GINGERSNAPS by Holli
Christmas without gingerbread is like Halloween without ghosts, Donny without Marie, Dennis Rodman without tats, Adam Lambert without eyeliner, Tiger Woods without…let’s just stop there, shall we? So when Holli emailed me her recipe for Gingersnaps I was intrigued. In my opinion, gingersnaps are an overlooked and underappreciated cookie. But as my state of Colorado is currently experiencing sub-zero temperatures for the 63rd day in a row now, the thought of not leaving my house and letting the smell of cinnamon and cloves fill my kitchen seemed like a good idea. Not to mention cinnamon is an anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, and helps regulate your blood sugar levels which in layman’s terms means they are completely suitable for breakfast.
This recipe for Gingersnaps does not disappoint. The thin coating of sugar and cinnamon bakes the cookie to a crispy exterior, leaving the inside gooey and moist. I only encountered two obstacles while baking this cookie this morning. One, the recipe called for ground cloves and I only had whole. Two, it also called for 3/4 cup UNsalted butter. I only had 1/2 cup, so 1/4 of my recipe is tainted with salted butter. Holli, please don’t be mad at me. To solve my clove debacle, I got out my trusty meat tenderizer from Pampered Chef:
then I poured some of the cloves onto a plate:
And then I honed my inner-Anasazi and used my man hands to crush them into pieces:
Within minutes I had enough for my recipe:
Normally I would have just run to the store to get some ground cloves, but remember the part where it’s cold enough outside to make the Abominable Snowman want to wear a coat? Let’s just say I was motivated. It’s okay though, because look what happened when I was all done:
Oh! And one more thing. Holli’s recipe didn’t call for this but I added chocolate chips to my recipe for a little extra texture and flavor contrast. The bittersweetness of the chocolate combined with the dense flavor of the gingersnap is a pleasant surprise and will leave you wanting more and more! Here’s the recipe (FINALLY. I KNOW.) ~ thanks Holli!
Combine:
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. GROUND cloves
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking soda
In separate bowl, combine and mix for two minutes on medium speed:
3/4 cup UNsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 egg
Add to butter/sugar ingredients and mix for another minute:
1/3 cup molasses
Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix thoroughly.
Optional: Add a couple of handfulls of chocolate chips
Roll into balls and coat in mixture of 1/2 cup sugar + 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon. Bake 10 minutes at 375 degrees. Cool for one minute before transferring to cooling rack.
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