I’ve had ginger on the mind lately. I think all the rain has had this spoiled California girl dreaming of warm sunny places and cool cocktails made of ginger and lime.
With rain in the forecast for tomorrow, that sunny beach I’ve been yearning for will have to wait (and really, we go to the beach sunny or not, it’s just a little harder to enjoy chilly cocktails when fending off chilly wind). In the meantime, I think I’ve found a rainy-day-inclement-of-weather substitute in this month’s Bon Appetit. The triple-ginger cookie.
As its name suggests, this crispy snap presents a triple threat of ginger in powder, fresh and crystalized forms. I found the crystalized root at Trader Joes but have also seen it at Whole Foods. Fresh ginger is usually available in the produce section of grocery stores and is easily peeled with a vegetable peeler.
With the exception of the fresh and crystalized gingers, there is a good chance that you already have the remainder of the ingredients in your pantry. As a note, the recipe calls for a light-colored molasses. I happened to have dark molasses in the pantry already and so didn’t want to buy a new jar. So, I used dark. The results were still delicious.
The recipe says to roll the balled dough in turbinado (or raw sugar). So I did.
I also happened to have some Swedish pearl sugar on hand that was wanting for an excuse to be used.
So, I used some of that as well.
Of course, in the absence of either, a good roll in regular granulated sugar would work just fine.
In addition to making the house smell nearly as warm and tropical as my beach fantasies, the cookies themselves came out delicious. Flat and slightly crispy, but also satisfyingly chewy from the crystalized ginger chunks. Tasty on their own, they would also make a great base for a key-lime pie crust.
Now if only that cabana boy would come around and refresh my hot cocoa…
Triple Ginger Cookies
Bon Appetit, January 2011
Ingredients
- 2 C all purpose flour
- 2 t baking soda
- 1.5 t ground ginger
- 1 t ground cinnamon
- .5 t ground cloves
- 1 C sugar
- 3/4 C solid vegetable shortening
- .5 C mild-flavored molasses
- 1 large egg
- 2 t minced peeled fresh ginger
- .25 C chopped crystallized ginger
- raw/turbinado sugar for rolling
Preheat oven to 350, line baking sheets with parchment.
Whisk together flour, soda and dry spices. Set aside. Using an electric or stand mixer with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in molasses, egg and fresh ginger. Stir in crystallized ginger and dry ingredients.
Fill shallow bowl with sugar. Shape dough into balls of desired size. Place on prepared sheets at least two inches apart (cookies will spread quite a bit). Bake cookies until golden and dry-looking; about 15 minutes.
Note: these cookies will freeze well in an air-tight bag or container.