Do you remember this story? I think it was a Brothers Grimm fairy tale. The old woman made a gingerbread man and he came to life. He ran away and kept getting into scrapes but always got out of them until someone ate him! I have a feeling this is the way most cookies feel...they want to run because they'll be eaten if they don't. Well, I don't have any gingerbread men, except for the pre-made one that came with my gingerbread house (remember Holly Cran Berry?), but I do have soft gingersnaps!
My family has a molasses cookie recipe that we really like, but I decided to try a different one this year. I actually think I like this one better. It is from Allrecipes. Making these cookies I discovered a couple of helpful hints for cookie baking. -First of all, if you use a baking stone to bake your cookies, put the stone in the oven while it is prebaking. This gets the stone warm so that it cooks the cookies more evenly. This will give you a smooth bottomed cookie.
-Secondly, if you have to roll your cookies but the dough is still sticky, wet your fingers before rolling. Somehow this keeps the dough from sticking to your hands.
-Thirdly, if you don't own a sifter, simply put the dry ingredients in a bowl and stir using a whisk. This gives the same aeration that sifting provides.
Using these tips, you should have wonderful Christmas cookies!
Grandma's Gingersnap Cookies2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup shortening
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup dark molasses
1/3 cup cinnamon sugar
1 tablespoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup shortening
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup dark molasses
1/3 cup cinnamon sugar
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (275 degrees C).
Mix and sift the first 5 ingredients. Sift a second time and place the mixture back into the sifter.
Beat the shortening until creamy. Add the 1 cup of sugar gradually and continue beating. Beat in the egg and the molasses.
Sift into this about 1/3 of the flour mixture, stirring and blending well. Repeat until all is added. Roll the dough into tiny balls by hand, rolling each in a mixture of cinnamon and sugar.
Place 2 inches apart on a ungreased baking sheet. Bake 10 minutes until the tops are rounded and slightly cracked. Cool on a wire rack. Store in an air tight container.
Mix and sift the first 5 ingredients. Sift a second time and place the mixture back into the sifter.
Beat the shortening until creamy. Add the 1 cup of sugar gradually and continue beating. Beat in the egg and the molasses.
Sift into this about 1/3 of the flour mixture, stirring and blending well. Repeat until all is added. Roll the dough into tiny balls by hand, rolling each in a mixture of cinnamon and sugar.
Place 2 inches apart on a ungreased baking sheet. Bake 10 minutes until the tops are rounded and slightly cracked. Cool on a wire rack. Store in an air tight container.
3 comments:
I love soft cookies and I bet the gingersnaps are good. For a long time I've been wanting to make something that is like those little gingerbread muffins that Jason's Deli has....got any ideas for that?
Oh yum, those look good! I love gingerbread (and cheated and bought some premade ones this year), but this recipe looks really good. I need to try it sometime, not sure if I'll get to it before Christmas though :)
On a side note, those glasses are so cute! Are those the ones you found at Kroger? If so, must make a note to look tomorrow, I'm going to make one last run on Friday. :)
Merry Christmas Claire!
What about the medicinal uses for ginger? I suggest it to everyone with 'morning sickness'...even better in a cookie.
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