Ginger Cookies

Okay, I tried these once and I'm sort of addicted. I confess. It's a hardship.

No kidding, these cookies are great. I've made three batches so far this year, and I'll probably make two more before I'm done. If you want an easy cookie to do for the holidays, this is it. The only catch is that it has to sit in the fridge for at least two hours (preferably more than two; up to five days is acceptable and more time will help with the spice blending).


Ginger Cookies
From Orangette, adapted from Leslie Mackie’s Macrina Bakery and Café Cookbook: Favorite Breads, Pastries, Sweets & Savories

2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1 ½ tsp ground cloves
1 tsp salt
½ cup vegetable shortening, at room temp
6 tbs unsalted butter, at room temp
1 ½ cups brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp peeled and grated fresh ginger, accept no substitutes. Powdered ginger does not work here, it must be freshly grated for the recipe to work. (This takes a larger thumb of fresh ginger than you might expect. Buy about twice as much ginger as you think you'll need, because when you grate it, you'll find that a lot of ginger turns out to be useless water.)
1/3 cup molasses
½ cup sugar

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ground cloves, and salt, and mix with a whisk to evenly blend. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl and with electric beaters, cream the shortening, butter, and brown sugar until smooth and pale in color. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing until incorporated and scraping down the sides of the bowl between each addition. Add the ginger and molasses, and mix to blend well. Scrape down the sides of the bowl again.

Using a rubber spatula, fold half of the flour mixture into the wet mixture. After the first half is incorporated, add the remaining flour, and continue folding gently until all of the flour has been absorbed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, cover it with plastic wrap, and place it in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. [At this point, the dough can hold for up to 4 days.]

Preheat the oven to 350 and line a baking sheet with parchment (makes clean up so much easier, also helps cooking. Parchment. If you're making cookies and you haven't discovered it, you should). Pour the granulated sugar into a pie pan or shallow bowl.

When the dough is solid and cool enough to handle without horrible sticking, scoop it out of the bowl and roll it into balls a scant 2 inches in diameter. Toss each of the balls gently in the sugar, and then place them on the baking sheet (you should be able to fit eight on a single sheet), leaving 3 inches between each ball. Bake cookies on the center rack of the oven for 15-17 minutes, until golden brown and slightly puffed. Let cool on the baking sheet for 15 minutes before transferring to a rack. Repeat with two more sheets of cookies.

Serves: who even knows. The recipe produces about 25 cookies, but if you eat them as quickly as my family, then it only serves about three people.