Cookie Week: Soft and Gooey Gingersnaps

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Cookie Week
Soft and Gooey Gingersnaps

When most people think of gingersnaps, they think of the kind at the store that are really hard and crunchy… good for dipping in your coffee. When I think of gingersnaps, I think of my grandma’s molasses cookies. Small, soft, and oh SO delicious. When Kate asked me to share a Christmas cookie recipe, I knew this had to be the one. (Once, in middle school, grandma made me a whole tin of them and Kate and I devoured it… yup, the WHOLE tin – and what she doesn’t want you to know is that she used to be a really REALLY picky cookie eater. Her mom had to bring some of hers’ at Christmas because Kate wouldn’t eat anybody elses’. So, you can trust that this recipe is GREAT!)
Anyway, here we go!
Start with the goodies: butter, sugar, vanilla, an egg, dark molasses, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, ground cloves, flour, and more sugar.


First, you cream together and beat until fluffy 1 ½ sticks of butter and 1 cup of sugar.

It’ll look like this:





Then, add 1 tsp of vanilla, 1 egg, and ¼ cup of dark molasses and beat it well.




Once that’s all mixed together, add 2 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp each of salt and cinnamon, ¾ tsp ginger, and a scant ¼ tsp of ground cloves. This makes the cookies spicy and gives them some extra YUM. Mix that well.


Next, gradually add 2 ¼ cups of flour.


The dough will be sticky. If you prefer, transfer that to a smaller, cleaner bowl because the next step is to chill it for several hours. (I did this over 2 days so my dough sat in the fridge overnight)




Once the dough is thoroughly chilled, pour some sugar into a shallow bowl. You’re going to shape the dough into 1 inch balls (wash your hands!!!) and drop the balls into the sugar. You can only do a few at a time, depending on the size of your bowl. Roll the balls in the sugar until they are good and coated. (You can make them a little larger than 1 inch balls… just keep a close eye on them in the oven. Since they’re already brown, it’s a little hard to tell when they’re done.)



Then, place them about 2 inches apart on your greased cookie sheet. 
At this point, you have to resist the urge to flatten these little cookie balls. DO NOT FLATTEN. They are so magical and wonderful that they do all the work for you.




See? They come out just perfect once baked at 375 degrees for 6-8 minutes. Now you get to try to resist the urge to eat all of them. Man, they are yummy!


Enjoy!
Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and lots of great family time,



Enjoy!
Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and lots of great family time,



Recipe for Ginger Snaps

1 ½ sticks butter

1 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 egg

¼ cup dark molasses

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

¾ tsp ginger
Scant  ¼ tsp ground cloves

2 ¼ cups flour

Cream together butter and sugar until fluffy. Add vanilla, egg, and dark molasses and beat well. Add baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and ground cloves and mix well. Add flour gradually. Chill dough for several hours. Shape dough into 1 inch balls. Roll in sugar. Place balls 2 inches apart on greased cookie sheet. DO NOT FLATTEN. Bake at 375 degrees for 6-8 minutes. Enjoy!

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Melissa says · 12.05.11

Those look simply divine! Thanks for sharing.

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The Funky Junkie says · 12.05.11

I just stumbled across your blog this weekend…what a great find! Love your writing, photos, and your hair. Seriously….it’s all fantastic.

And TOTALLY approve of cookie week. I love the soft, gooey ginger snaps. My mom always makes these dipped in white chocolate as part of her Christmas cookie repertoire. I can’t wait for tomorrow’s recipe. 🙂

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Caitlin Skye says · 12.05.11

Wow, these look delicious! I can’t wait to try this recipe. Thanks a ton for sharing!

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Kandyce says · 12.05.11

those look super easy to make and delish!

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Christy says · 12.05.11

I love my grandma’s molasses cookies too! She always flattened hers with a fork, but my husband prefers soft cookies so I think I’ll have to make them this way 🙂

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Beth says · 12.05.11

I will have to try these! I am a new follower of your blog (from Pinterest). Love all of your great posts!

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Shannon says · 12.05.11

Oh yum. I love ginger snaps but I HATE when they are hard! I am definitely trying these.

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missfrizzle says · 12.05.11

This comment has been removed by the author.

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engineergirl says · 12.05.11

My mom made gingersnaps that were chewy like these for us when I was little. This brought back so many memories! I think I will have to run to the store to pick up some dark molasses today and try these, they look delish!

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Anonymous says · 12.05.11

How many cookies does the recipe yield?

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Anonymous says · 12.06.11

How many cups are in a stick of butter?

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Amy says · 12.07.11

I made these cookies last night and my husband kept stealing the dough off of the cookie sheets. I felt like I was in an episode of I Love Lucy. These cookies smelled awesome while they were in the oven and tasted even better!! My husband wanted me to make sure that I thanked you for having a cookie week and he is looking forward to all of the wonderful cookies in his future.

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Alyssa Snowden says · 12.09.11

I made these cookies last night and they are AMAZING! I love gingerbread and these are the perfect cookie!

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kristofer and ivy says · 12.09.11

My daughter and I just baked these last night! I made the dough the night before, so baking was pretty much instant cookie gratification. I rolled, she coated in sugar, and we all ate and ate and ate. Have to make more this weekend to share! They’re amazing.

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Lost in my Mind says · 12.16.11

OMG, I just made these. They are so delicious! I was skeptical at first, never baked ginger snaps before… they are soft and delicious.

Thank you!

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