If you are looking for flavorful, sturdy and crisp (but not dry) cookie, then you owe it yourself to give these a chance. Ground ginger, cinnamon (I used the fierce Vietnamese cinnamon from Penzeys, cloves and a special "secret" addition of fresh ground pepper season the flour with such a sweet enticing fragrance. Augmenting the dough to a dark tan color with a snappy depth of flavor is a cup worth of thick molasses - this is added along with the granulated sugar when you are creaming the wet ingredients.
The non-sticky dough is then formed into large golf ball sized pieces and rolled in granulated sugar before baking to give the cookies sparkle and a bit of crunch to the outside. You may be tempted to flatten the dough balls, but resist that urge - they spread out just fine on their own and leaving them in this shape allows them to stay extra thick. Since the dough is already dark, baking until "golden" is not a good way to check for doneness. I found the texture to be best when the cookies have baked enough to form beautiful cracks and crevices, but not so long that those cracks look dry. You want them to glisten and look a little underdone still. After we finished trying a couple of cookies, we both quickly agreed that these just might take over one of the coveted spots in our Christmas gift baking bonanza we do each year!
I love that Penzeys Vietnamese cinnamon, too. It has incredible bite! I'll be bookmarking this recipe for sure; in my house we love ginger cookies in any form.
ReplyDeleteI did a ginger cookie that sounds very similar for our holiday baking last year, but I didn't think the granulated sugar gave the cookies enough sparkle. Didn't want to spring for the super-expensive sanding sugar since I was baking in such bulk, so I wound up using turbinado sugar, Mostly it comes in the little brown packets, but you can find it by the box. Nice big grains, and since the cookies are so dark already it doesn't matter that the sugar isn't clear.
ReplyDeleteThese sound really good. We bought some Swedish ginger biscuits last week, the tin is almost finished. We've also chosen Sweden as the next country that we're going to learn about so might just try making these. Thank you
ReplyDeleteThanks for dropping by my blog. You seem like a cookie addict, I'll definitely bookmark this for later visit :). I have had few successes with cookies due to my impatience in cooking them.
ReplyDeleteA friend and I were just chatting about gingersnaps while in IKEA the other day! (Random - I know!) These look great....and I guess its a sign I may need to make some in the near future. :)
ReplyDeleteLydia - Yes, I can't get enough of that cinnamon!
ReplyDeleteCK1 - Good call with the turbinado! I'll write that in my notes to try!
Amanda - Let me know if you like them!
Cherry - I hope you get a chance to try them!
Chris - Jealous... I love Ikea! I can't wait till we get back to MN and have easy access to one again!
Oh my gosh - my son would love to eat these.
ReplyDeleteEvery morning I butter some toast for him and sprinkle it with Penzey's cinnamon and some sugar.
Karen - I have that breakfast as a snack often!
ReplyDeleteJoey - Molasses and ginger...you can't go wrong there; this is one of my favorite combinations in the world. Have you tried Nigel Slater's double ginger cake? It is heavenly and perfect when the weather gets cold again (hardly what you're thinking about right now, I know).
ReplyDeleteIt's almost exactly the cookie recipe I stole from my very British mother. She's been making them for years, and they are an enormous favourite of mine. Jeph has enjoyed them as well.
ReplyDeleteCome Christmastime this year, I'm making your fig and anise cookies, that's for sure!
Shaun - I have not tried that cake, but I must add it to our lists!
ReplyDeletePeter - Very cool! They are excellent cookies... what is the difference between the two?
Love those. They are a 'winner' in my house.
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