Ginger Snaps

The Date: 20 September 2011

The Occasion: Mom's Birthday. Her actual birthday is tomorrow, but since I won't be able to see her tomorrow, I am making a double batch of these cookies she loves to take to her at her Small Group tonight. A little birthday surprise. Later, for Pete and me, dinner tonight will be chili - a pound of ground turkey cooked on the stove with peppers and onions, then stirred with a can of diced tomatoes, a can of black beans, a can of kidney beans, and a packet of chili seasoning. Not worth blogging about. So this isn't dinner, exactly, but it's what I'm making when I'd normally be making dinner.

The Recipe: Can't remember where I got this one. Probably online somewhere, but now it's scribbled in sharpie on a recipe card in the fattest section of my recipe box: Desserts.

How it went:
Since I'd made these before, I wasn't too concerned about it working out. I knew that the dough would be kind of greasy and plop neatly on the cookie sheets in little shimmery piles. I knew it was pretty quick and called for things I'd have in the cabinet already. All of that was true. What I didn't remember was how fast they baked. My recipe said 10-12 minutes, but the cookies on the lower rack during the first batch were burned black on the bottom after just 10 minutes. I did just 7 minutes for the rest of the batches and had much better success. When they start to look light brown and puffy, wait just one more minute until they just barely start to flatten out. Then take them out. They will be soft still, but transfer them to a wire rack and they'll firm up around the edges almost immediately. The centers, though, will still be chewy.

Ginger Snaps: Just out of the oven

These cookies are splendid to make. They infuse the whole house with the smell of Christmas: ginger, cinnamon, brown sugar, cloves... And when they come out of the oven they are the perfect texture. Not crunchy like Sweetzel's Spiced Wafers (an autumn favorite of mine) but just a bit crisp around the edges and still warm and soft in the middle.
I made this easy recipe extra easy for myself, knowing I'd come home from work and have to whip these babies up and get them over to Kelly's where Small Group was being hosted. So this morning I measured out all the dry ingredients and left them in a mixing bowl on the counter. When I got home, I just had to blend the brown sugar, vegetable oil, eggs, and molasses, then mix in the flour, baking soda, and spices. The double batch made probably six dozen cookies or so. Smallish ones, about the size of a Spiced Wafer. For normal purposes, a single batch is probably enough, but if you want enough to give your mom (or serve your guests) plus some for the next few mornings at breakfast, I recommend the double batch. They really are divine.

Your Turn:
Preheat oven to 375. 
Beat in electric mixer

• 1 C brown sugar, packed (light or dark, or a mixture)
• 3/4 C vegetable oil
• 1/4 C molassas
• 1 egg

Then add

• 2 C flour
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• slightly less than 1 tsp ginger (add more if you like ginger; I prefer the cinnamon to take center stage, so I go light on the ginger)
• almost 2 tsp cinnamon (add less if you prefer a more gingery cookie)

and beat until smooth. Dough will be very soft and greasy-looking. Using two spoons, drop small blops of dough on cookie sheet. About the size of a silver dollar is good. Leave about two inches between cookies. Sprinkle the top of each cookie with white sugar. Bake at 375 for about 7-8 minutes (depending on your oven, it might need the full 10-12) just until the cookies puff up and then just barely start to flatten.
Transfer immediately to wire racks and let cool.

PS: If you're making these as a gift, I found a great way to package them. Buy a large "take-out box" at your local craft store and line the inside with scrapbook paper. (Just trace the outside of the box onto the back of the paper.) Then line again with waxed paper, and fill up with cookies! A cute tag identifies the contents. Yum-yum and pretty too!

Happy Birthday, Mom!