Gingersnaps 0
I almost love gingersnaps more than I love a really good chocolate chip cookie. Almost. It’s a photo finish, really.
Just like gingerbread, gingersnaps date back to Medieval England and predate the cake style gingerbread we know today.
Gingersnaps have a long history in Europe, especially England and Germany. The cookies were made using molasses as a sweetener rather than refined sugar because it was less expensive and more readily available to the average person. (At this time, white refined sugar was extremely expensive and only available to the very wealthy.) As England expanded its colonial rule, it brought many of its cooking and baking traditions to these colonized countries, including gingersnaps.
The ingredients
From top: molasses, baking soda, ginger, allspice, salt
1/2 c. butter, room temperature
1/2 shortening, room temperature
1 c. dark brown sugar
1 egg, room temperature
1/4 c. molasses
2 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground allspice
Extra sugar for rolling
1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
2. In a mixer bowl, cream together the butter, shortening, and brown sugar.
Getting ready to cream the butter, shortening, and brown sugar together.
After creaming the butter and sugar together. You don’t want to beat too much air into the mixture.
Add the egg and molasses and mix until well combined.
After adding the egg and molasses.
3. Meanwhile, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, and allspice.
Sifted dry ingredients. Kinda like the way it looks.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the molasses mixture 1/3 at a time, mixing well after each addition. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Mixing in the dry ingredients. Be sure to mix well after each addition and scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure even mixing.
The finished dough. Try not to eat it at this stage.
5. When the cookie mixture is ready, take a small amount and roll into a ball about 1″ in diameter. Roll the ball in the extra sugar to coat.
Rolling the cookie dough in sugar. This is a pretty traditional step in making the cookies. However, if you prefer not to have the extra sugar, you can skip this step.
Place the ball of dough onto a cookie sheet. Repeat about 4 dozen times. Have no more than 12 per baking sheet because the cookies will spread.
Ready for the oven. The cookies will spread, so be sure to have about 2″ between each ball of dough.
6. Bake the cookies for 15 – 18 minutes, rotating the baking sheets halfway through the baking time.
Now your house will smell like the holidays.
Enjoy!
