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Ginger Spice Cookies
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Sometime in the early 2000’s, my late mother in law shared this recipe with us from an issue of Bon Appetit magazine. I quickly redistributed it to my Mom, an avid baker, and we’ve all baked it for the better part of the last two decades.
While my mom never shied away from margarine in her cookies (her peanut butter blossoms always used margarine, and at some point I stopped eating them), I quickly switched this recipe to all butter. Last week when I doubled the recipe, they did not come out well. I didn’t just double one batch, I doubled two batches! That’s a lot of chopped, crystalized ginger. And it made me question whether it was the doubling or the butter, or the cookie size.
I did try both all butter and an Earth Balance/butter blend (1/2 cup earth balance to 1/4 cup butter) yesterday, and they turned out almost identical looking, which bodes well for my method of creaming and baking. This means, for me, that I can continue to use an all butter recipe with success, and lays to rest my seasonal strife over failing at this cookie earlier this season.
I think it was the cookie size and doubling the recipe that tripped me up. Some recipes just don’t double well, and this is one of them. It makes about 72 small cookies per recipe, which is ample in my opinion. So I’ve written on my recipe Do Not Double in case, you know, I forget today’s wisdom in 2023.
Yield: 6 dozen
Ginger Spice Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 c all purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 2 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp cloves
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 3/4 cup finely chopped crystalized ginger
- 3/4. cup dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar
- 3/4 cup salted butter, room temperature
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup molasses
- a cup of sugar for rolling
Instructions
- Chop crystalized ginger into small pieces, not as fine as minced garlic but about 1/8” cubes. Measure and combine dry ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Add crystalized ginger and fully incorporate. Set aside.
- Next, cut butter into small pieces and combine with brown sugars in a stand mixer with paddle attachment on medium until the butter is whipped, about 30 seconds to a minute on low to medium. Stop the mixer and with a spatula scrape down the sides to lift any stuck butter from the sides. Turn back on to medium high for another minute or two. Check the batter again to ensure there aren’t pockets of butter and sugar sticking to the sides of the pan; scrape down if needed and whip for another 1-2 minutes on high until very light and fluffy. When in doubt, let it go a little longer than you think you need to!
- Add the egg and mix again for several minutes, scraping down the sides as before, until you have a super fluffy and whipped mixture. Add the molasses and mix until blended. Finally, add the dry ingredients and mix on low until just combined. Transfer to a small bowl and press together. Cover tightly, and refrigerate overnight or for a minimum of 12 hours.
The middle scoop is what we use for these cookies. I think it’s a size 70 or a small cookie scoop. Highly recommend. It’s more than 2 tsps but a little under a tablespoon in volume (as tested this morning with the measuring spoons seen here. - Preheat oven to 350.
- Set a baking sheet to the middle rack. Line your baking sheets with parchment paper. Using a small scoop (size 70, which measures 1 tablespoon) or teaspoon, scoop the dough and round with your hands.
- Place in a bowl of sugar and roll to cover. I set about 20 cookies per sheet.
- Bake for 11-12 minutes. They will look done sooner but I’ve learned 11 minutes is the minimum for my oven. (the original recipe called for 9-11 minutes).
- Cool on a wire rack and try not to eat them all that day.
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