5 days of christmas cookies: gingersnaps

Gingersnaps are one of the most popular cookies my mom makes during the holidays every year. She quadruples the recipe, to start, and often has to make more before Christmas. They are the perfect version of a gingersnap: crunchy around the edges but still soft in the center. Additionally, they are great cookies to make with kids because you can set up an assembly line for rolling the dough into balls and rolling the balls in the sugar. That’s what we used to do — with no kids here, I recruited my husband, and things went much faster.

Recipe: Gingersnaps

Ingredients:

• 1 c sugar, plus more for rolling
• 3/4 c shortening
• 1 egg, at room temperature
• 4 T molasses
• 2 c flour
• 2 t baking soda
• 1/2 t salt
• 1 t cloves
• 1 t ginger
• 1 t cinnamon

Directions:

1. In an electric mixer, cream the sugar and shortening.
2. Add the egg and beat until the dough is fluffy.
3. Add molasses* then the dry ingredients, beating in between.
4. Chill in the fridge for at least 20 minutes and up to overnight.
5. Roll in teaspoon size balls then roll in sugar.
6. Bake at 350 F for 10-15 minutes (until sugar doesn’t sparkle) on cookie sheets that are either lined with parchment paper or slightly greased.

*When measuring the molasses, it helps to lightly spray the measuring cup with cooking spray so the molasses doesn’t stick!

p.s. No Snapshot Sunday this week, enjoy the cookie recipes instead!