Sparkling gingersnaps

June 6, 9:39 AMLA Baking ExaminerHilary Cable

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Cloves add depth./Wikimedia Commons

My mom is a fan of ginger. When I was a kid, you could only get crystallized ginger in mysterious gourmet food stores, and it was expensive. She always had a small stash put away. I could never figure out why it was treated like gold in our house until I was an adult and learned to appreciate its assertive flavor. 

Thanks to Trader Joe’s, crystallized ginger is available for a lot less money and hassle. It’s no longer afforded kid glove treatment in this house. In fact, nowadays, it goes into my crisp, buttery,  melt-in-your-mouth gingersnaps. The bits of crystallized ginger add unexpected texture and a new layer of flavor.  

This recipe was modified from the Double Gingersnaps in “The Wellesley Cookie Exchange” by Susan Mahnke Peery. ISBN 067166588-X. 

Ingredients: 

¼ cup crystallized ginger pieces 

1 ½ cups salted butter

2 cups granulated white sugar

2 large eggs

½ cup dark molasses

4 cups all-purpose white flour

2 tsp. baking soda

¼ tsp. mace 

½  tsp. ground cloves

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

4 tsp. ground ginger 

Granulated white sugar for rolling

Coarse sugar crystals 

Method: 

Coarsely chop the crystallized ginger. Put it in a food processor with 1 tbsp. of the flour and pulse until it is coarsely ground. Set aside. 

Sift the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and ground dry ginger. Set aside. 

Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. 

Add the eggs, molasses and ground crystallized ginger and beat until well-blended. 

Add the flour mixture and beat until well-blended. 

Cover and refrigerate about an hour to make the dough easier to roll. 

Preheat the oven to 350°. 

Spray AirBake cookie sheets with no-stick spray. 

Place a few tablespoons of the granulated sugar in a small bowl. Please a couple of tablespoons  of the coarse sugar crystals in a bowl. 

Pull off balls of dough about the size of a walnut. Roll them between your greased palms to form smooth balls. 

Drop the balls in the granulated sugar and roll to coat with sugar. 

Pick up balls of dough and press them into the coarse sugar crystals so one side is coated. 

Place the dough balls on the cookie sheet about  2 inches apart, coarse-crystal-side up. 

Bake 15-18 minutes. The cookies will flatten and the tops will crackle. 

Makes 5-6 dozen. 

Cook’s notes: 

• This dough keeps for a week tightly wrapped in the refrigerator. It also freezes well. 
• “The Wellesley Cookie Exchange” by Susan Mahnke Peery is out of print, but you can find it at Cookbooks by Janet Jarvits in Pasadena, or online.

More information: 

Not sure what I mean by coarse sugar crystals? Here’s a link to coarse sugar at King Arthur Flour. 

Here’s a variation by Alice Waters with black pepper. But of course! Pepper would complement the ginger.