Friday 15 May 2020

"Better than Timmy's" Ginger Molasses Cookies

The Domestic Goddess hands the Baking Baton over to the Junior DG 

Chris liked the size of my cookies.


Unlike what seems like 99% of the world (on social media, at least), I have been baking and cooking less during this lockdown. With everyone being at home all the time, and my homeschooling three kids at the dining room table every day, I have less time than usual to bake and make dinner, probably because I get my most productive work done after 3:30, when the kids are "finished school for the day" and I can "work because they are finally in a different room". And also, "please can they go back to school now?"

But, I digress. Ailsa loves to bake. My Junior DG desperately wanted to make sugar cookies "you know, the kind you roll out, cut out with cookie cutters, then decorate".

These are my worst nightmare.* Don't get me wrong; I love eating them, and make them twice a year (Halloween and Christmas) then watch in horror as my kitchen explodes into flour, icing sugar and sprinkles. Also, I usually pop a scrap or two of the dough between each rolling-out, so I end up with a tummyache by the time they come out of the oven.

I much prefer one-bowl recipes that don't require any rolling or shaping, that can be mixed and baked in thirty minutes or less. (I still have the dough-eating tummyache issue, though. Maybe it's me.)

SO, when she found a recipe for Ginger Snaps, I wasn't sure... I love ginger molasses cookies (the soft ones, not the crisp ones), and this one was billed as "light and crispy" and involves rolling the cookies into balls and rolling them into sugar. But we did it anyway, adjusting the ingredients, temperature and timing as we went, and you know what? 

It was delicious and fun. Ailsa did all the measuring and mixing, then the two of us scooped, rolled and rolled again.

The result was an amazingly flavourful, spicy-gingery, crispy on the outside/chewy on the inside cookie. Dare I say, the perfect ginger molasses cookie? Either way I highly recommend (even if I have a tummyache).

Ginger Molasses Cookies (makes 2 dozen)

3/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cups sugar, divided
1 egg
1/4 cup molasses
1 tsp finely grated fresh ginger
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
5 tsp ground ginger, divided
1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Topping: In a little bowl, combine 1/2 cup of sugar and 2 tsp of ground ginger. Set aside.

Cream butter and remaining 1 cup of sugar in a large bowl until smooth. Add in egg, molasses and fresh ginger. Beat. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, remaining 3 tsp ground ginger and cinnamon until blended. Add half the dry ingredients to the wet, mix, then repeat.

Scoop out a generous heaping tablespoon of dough, roll it between your palms to make a ball, then roll it in the topping. Space balls evenly on the baking sheets.

Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until the top cracks. Let cool for 10 minutes on the sheet (don't eat them yet!), then remove to a rack to finish cooling.

Enjoy with a cuppa or a big glass of milk.



* Aside from Nightmare Cookies, that is. We had a bad run with Nightmare Cookies, a three-ginger cookie, about ten years ago, and are still shaken. Ask me for the recipe if you dare.

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