Gingersnaps (Two Ways)

Well hello, stranger, long time no see! It’s been a couple weeks since I posted anything to my blog and I have a good excuse for that (or lots of little excuses that add up to one good excuse). What started out as me taking a single week off to battle the plague which brought my entire family to its knees (seriously, even the cat was sick),

quickly rolled into two weeks, allowing my husband and me to travel to Washington D.C. to run the Army Ten Miler,

and attend the Military Police prom.

Then…I had to take a couple more days off to rest and recover from my busy two weeks, but now I’m back! And I have something extra special for you by way of apology for my long absence. Gingersnaps! But not just any gingersnaps, I cooked up two varieties of gingersnaps for you guys: regular old gingery gingersnaps, and chocolate gingersnaps — which are ohsogood! (On a side note, that’s probably the most I’ve ever used the word gingersnaps in a single sentence.) Anyway, I realize that it’s still October (and not December like the big department stores would like you to believe with their Christmas decorations already out), and I know that gingersnaps are kind of a holiday cookie, but you know what? I don’t care. I love them! They’re spicy, and sugary, and pretty much taste good any time of year, like…Halloween. Oh! and get this, ginger root has a long history as a natural cure for nausea, which worked out perfectly for us because these cookies were just about the only thing my family could keep down while we were battling the stomach flu (see excuse #1). So whether you’re in the pre-holiday spirit or just looking for a delicious alternative to Pepto Bismol, these cookies are going to make you (and your stomach) happy!

Gingersnaps

2¼ cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 Tbsp ground ginger
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
½ tsp allspice
¼ tsp salt
¾ cup unsalted butter (1½ sticks), cut into 1-inch pieces
1 Tbsp fresh grated ginger (from about a 5-inch piece of peeled ginger root)
¼ cup dark molasses
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
¼ cup granulated sugar, for dusting

In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, dry spices, and salt; set aside.

In a small saucepan set over medium heat, melt butter and grated fresh ginger. As the butter melts it will bubble and become foamy, this is fine, just be sure to stir the butter so that it doesn’t burn. Continue cooking and stirring until butter is a nice golden brown, remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.

To a large bowl, add brown sugar, molasses, vanilla, and browned butter, and beat to combine. Add egg, and beat again until the mixture is creamy. Working in two batches, add flour mixture to butter/sugar mixture, mixing to combine between each addition. After the second addition has been fully incorporated, form the cookie dough into a large ball and place in a resealable plastic bag (dough should be slightly dry and crumbly). Refrigerate for at least 1-hour and up to 2-days.

Preheat oven to 350°F and line two baking sheets with a piece of parchment paper. Pour ¼ cup granulated sugar into a bowl and set aside. Remove dough from refrigerator (note: if you refrigerated your dough longer than 1-hour, allow it to come to room temperature for 30 minutes before proceeding). Scoop 1 heaping tablespoon of dough into your hands, and, using your palms, roll dough into balls. Roll the balls in sugar and place on prepared cookie sheet, spacing 2-inches apart.

Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of a cookie comes out clean and tops are nice and crackly.

Allow to rest on the cookie sheet for 2 minutes before transferring to cooling rack. Repeat with remaining dough.

Chocolate Gingersnaps

2¼ cups flour
¼ cup dark cocoa powder, plus 1 Tbsp for dusting
1 tsp baking soda
2 Tbsp ground ginger
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
½ tsp allspice
¼ tsp salt
¾ cup unsalted butter (1½ sticks), cut into 1-inch pieces
1 Tbsp fresh grated ginger (from about a 5-inch piece of peeled ginger root)
¼ cup dark molasses
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
¼ cup granulated sugar, for dusting

In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda, dry spices, and salt; set aside.

Preheat oven to 350°F and line two baking sheets with a piece of parchment paper. Pour ¼ cup granulated sugar into a bowl and add 1 Tbsp cocoa powder, mix to combine and set aside. Remove dough from refrigerator (note: if you refrigerated your dough longer than 1-hour, allow it to come to room temperature for 30 minutes before proceeding). Scoop 1 heaping tablespoon of dough into your hands, and, using your palms, roll dough into balls. Roll the balls in sugar/cocoa mixture and place on prepared cookie sheet, spacing 2-inches apart.

Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of a cookie comes out clean and tops are nice and crackly.

Black & White Gingersnaps

To achieve this half-and-half cookie, simply make one batch of regular Gingersnap dough and one batch of Chocolate Gingersnap dough (or if you don’t want to end up with 6 dozen cookies, make half a batch of each). After removing dough from the refrigerator, scoop 1 heaping tablespoon of dough into your hands, and, using your palms, roll dough into balls. Cut each ball in half, then press one half of regular Gingersnap dough into one half of Chocolate Gingersnap dough, and roll together until sealed.

Dip the chocolate side of the cookie ball in sugar/cocoa mixture and the regular side of the cookie ball in plain granulated sugar, and place on prepared cookie sheet, spacing 2-inches apart. Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of a cookie comes out clean and tops are nice and crackly.