Gingersnaps

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
2/3 cup sugar
1 egg
3 tablespoons molasses
1 1/2 cups flour
3 teaspoons ground ginger
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt


demerara sugar (raw cane sugar) for sprinkling

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Line 2 cookie sheets with a silipat or parchment paper. Sprinkle a place with demerara sugar and set aside. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Add the egg and molasses and mix well. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking powder and salt. Slowly add it to the butter and sugar mixture. Mix to thoroughly combine. Roll dough into 1 inch balls and roll the balls in the demerara sugar. Place cookies 2 inches apart onto the cookie sheets. Flatten each cookie slightly with the heel of your hand or a spatula. Bake 8-12 minutes or until set and the bottoms are golden.


Allow to rest on the pan for a couple of minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.


Yield: about 2 dozen cookies

My thoughts:

I created this recipe because I wanted a gingersnap recipe that didn't involve rolling the dough out. By skipping that step not only you are saving time you will end up less waste. Plus you get to roll the cookies in sugar which I find immensely satisfying. Besides the tactile pleasures, the sugar also adds a bit of a sparkle to the finished cookie. Simple, homey, delicious. And my husband enthusiastically called them the best gingersnaps he'd ever had. A ringing endorsement if I ever heard one!

Note: If you are like me and enjoy using spicy gingersnaps instead of graham crackers when making crusts for ice box pies and you find the cookes are a little too soft* to easily crumble into crust, just let them sit out uncovered overnight and they will crisp right up.

*This is mostly a concern if, like me, you live in a area where it is fairly humid.