In celebration of the Holiday season and in preparation for my Winter Break Christmas festivities, I set out to make a classic and — hopefully near perfect — ginger cookie. I’ve always loved ginger cookies, especially during the holidays. The spicy sweetness and the chewy middle with crispy edges are irresistible. The best ginger cookies I’ve ever had are definitely the Rustica ginger cookies. With so much snow, I didn’t feel like driving to go get some, so I scoured my mom’s cookbooks for recipes. I stumbled across the 100 Cookies Cookbook by Sarah Kieffer which has never failed me before, so I gave the “Ginger Cookie” recipe a try. In my opinion, these cookies turned out perfectly and were very easy to make. In fact, I contend they rivaled the Rustica cookies.
Perfect Ginger Cookies (recipe from the 100 Cookies cookbook)
Ingredients
Dry
2 ⅓ Cups Flour
1 ½ tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp ground ginger
¾ tsp salt
½ teaspoon nutmeg
Pinch of cloves
Wet
1½ sticks softened butter
¾ cups brown sugar
½ granulated sugar (more for rolling)
⅓ cup molasses
1 large egg plus on large egg yolk
1 tsp Vanilla extract
(Optional) ¼ cup crystallized ginger cut into tiny pieces (mix in at the end if desired)
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl, and whisk together. In a standing mixer, or with a handheld mixer, beat together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add in the molasses and beat until combined (scrape down the edges).
Next, add the egg and one yolk as well as the vanilla and mix until smooth. Add half of the dry ingredient mixture and beat until combined, add the rest and best until dough forms.
Using a cookie scoop, scoop out even balls of dough, about two tablespoons per cookie. Roll each piece of dough into a ball and roll in white sugar.
Place 8 cookies well spaced on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Bake the cookies for no more than 10 minutes to ensure a tender middle.
Let cool for 5 minutes before enjoying!
