Gingersnaps

Once upon a time, I used to bake a lot of Christmas cookies. These days I think I'm doing well if I make four or five different kinds. One of my personal traditions is to try a new (to me) cookie recipe every year. I'm posting that cookie recipe for Christmas week because even people who don't do a lot of entertaining often bake a batch of cookies.

I actually made two batches of new to me cookies this year. The first were good, but they didn't knock my socks off. In case you don't know, while the cookies are still hot, you can sprinkle them with crushed candy canes. It's adorably festive!

But it's this plain Jane gingersnap recipe that's a keeper. Melted butter keeps them soft and the flavor just can't be beat. I had every intention of dipping them in chocolate or drizzling them with chocolate but honest to goodness, they're so good the way they are that I decided not to mess with a good thing! Sometimes simple is better.

This dough will feel super soft in your hand. It holds together, so don't worry or add more flour. At the stage of rolling the dough in sugar I started with about 1/4 of a cup of sugar and added more as I needed it. That way I didn't waste a lot of sugar. The cookies spread into amazingly perfect circles when they bake, so don't worry about rolling the dough into perfect balls.

Gingersnaps

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar + extra for rolling
1 large egg
1/4 cup molasses
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Melt the butter and set aside to cool. Use a fork or a whisk to mix together the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl, and set aside. Beat 1 cup of sugar with the melted butter. Beat in the egg. Beat in the molasses. Beat in the vanilla. Add the flour about 1/2 cup at a time, beating after each addition. 

Add about 1/4 cup of sugar to a small bowl. Roll the dough into balls about 1-inch in diameter, then roll the dough in the sugar and place each ball about three inches apart on the parchment paper. Bake 10-12 minutes.

Roll balls of dough in sugar.

Fresh from the oven. Soft and so yummy when warm!

We're giving away books here this week, so today I'm offering the choice of MURDER MOST HOWL or THE DIVA STEALS A CHOCOLATE KISS. Leave a comment with your email address to enter. Good luck and Happy Cookie Baking!