Something Old: Ginger Snaps

I've decided that the best adjustment for the blog, considering the impending end of Something Old recipes, is to have a theme for each week.

Themes might be a common element in both recipes (like breading & frying in last week's recipes) or a common type of food (like this week's desserts) or the two recipes for the week might be connected by the best common thread of all: they belong on the same plate. Here in a week or two, I'll be posting two delicious Mexican recipes that my friend Theresa taught me to make. One will be an entrée, the other a side dish.

But for this week, the theme is Desserts! Today's recipe is actually a Something Old recipe still, but I have a fantastic new recipe for Thursday that I am so excited to share. But you'll just have to wait to find out what it is.

Until then, whip up some delicious Ginger Snaps and a nice cup of tea to accompany them.

Happy cooking!

ps- Looking at these old pictures make me wish I had kitchen lighting as fantastic as my mom's kitchen lighting.

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Ginger Snaps May 26, 2010

Packing and unpacking and repacking and reunpacking: the story of my last 2 weeks. So when my mom said today that I should bake something for dessert, I jumped at the idea. I’ve missed cooking, and I can’t wait to be settled again so I can do it consistently.

ETA in my Columbus home: One week!

For now, I’ll satisfy my cooking urge with here-and-there baking afternoons.

Since I’m in my childhood home, I decided to make one of our cookie jar staples: Ginger Snaps! They’re soft, chewy, full of flavor, and easy. Everything a cookie should be.

Ingredients

cup shortening (stick Crisco)

1 cup sugar

¼ cup molasses (dark or light, depending on your taste)

1 egg, beaten

2 cups flour

2 tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp cloves

1 tsp ground ginger

2 Tbsp sugar

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

2. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the shortening and 1 cup sugar with a hand mixer.

3. Mix in molasses and beaten egg.

4. Add baking soda, salt, spices, and one cup of the flour. Mix thoroughly. Then mix in the second cup of flour.

5. Roll teaspoon-size balls of dough into spheres. If the dough is too sticky to work with easily, refrigerate for 30 minutes then try again.

6. Place reserved 2 Tbsp of sugar in a small bowl. Roll the dough spheres in the sugar until coated.

7. Place the spheres about 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper (or a greased cookie sheet if you don't have parchment).

8. Bake for 7-8 minutes.

9. Cool and enjoy.

All the ingredients, minus one egg.

Once all the ingredients are mixed thoroughly, the batter should look like this.

Rolling the cookie spheres in sugar.

Ready for the oven.

Happy cooking!