Cookie #3 (Ginger Spice Cookies)
The next cookie on the countdown holds a very special place in my heart. Ginger cookies always make me think of a very special person in my life, Maw Maw Carolyn. She technically wasn’t my biological grandmother, but she was the closest I had to that matriarch figure growing up. My actual grandmother was around, but we were never very close.
When there was too much for my mom to do at work, I would spend days with her during the summer. We would watch movies, cook, and sometimes she would let me climb the Japan plum tree in their yard to harvest the ripe fruit. Carolyn, my mother, and I would always go on day trips together and there would never be a bad moment.
On days that we would visit after school, Maw Maw Carolyn would bring me a plate of ginger snaps and a glass of sweet tea to enjoy while the adults gossiped. These were the little moments that I will always cherish. This is also where I fell in love with ginger spice cookies.
This version of the ginger cookie is crunchy on the exterior and chewy to it’s core. I add chopped crystallized ginger to give it an extra zing and to decorate the top. The mustard powder in the recipe helps to enhance the flavor of the other spices. This recipe screams Christmas and family. Enjoy these little gems and share them with someone you love.
Ginger Spice Cookies
1 Cup Packed Brown Sugar
3/4 Cup Vegetable Oil
1/4 Cup Molasses
1 Egg
2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
2 TSP Baking Soda
1/2 Cup Crystallized Ginger
1/4 TSP Mustard Powder
1/4 TSP Kosher Salt
1/2 TSP Ground Cloves
1 TSP Ground Cinnamon
1 TSP Ground Ginger
1/3 Cup Granulated Sugar, for decorating
Procedure:
Preheat the oven 375 F
In the bowl of an Electric Mixer fitted with the flat beater, combine the sugars, oil, molasses and egg on medium speed. In a separate bowl combine the remaining ingredients.
Reduce the speed on the mixer to low and incorporate the dry ingredients into the molasses mixture. Add in the crystallized ginger, reserve half of the ginger for topping the cookie.
Use a medium cookie scoop to create even sized mounds of dough. Roll the dough in the granulated sugar and place on a prepared cookie sheet. Place a small mound of chopped ginger onto the center top of each cookie and press down lightly.
Bake for 12 minutes, rotate the pan halfway through baking. Cookies will be lightly browned around the edges and crackled throughout.
