It’s that festive time of year and what better way to get into the mood then to bake some ginger cookies! I really don’t know why I like ginger snaps/cookies so much, I have such a strong distaste for ginger in anything. I found this recipe on SimpleRecipes.com and thought they looked quite cute. Little did I know how out of ordinary the recipe was when I started to make it.

Gingersnap Cookies (SimplyRecipes)

Yield: Makes 6 to 8 dozen cookies.

Ingredients
8 oz unsalted butter (226g)
1 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp. granulated sugar (I used a bit more than 1/2 cup brown sugar)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 small eggs or 1 1/2 large eggs
1/3 cup molasses
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon finely ground black pepper

Method
1. Cream butter until soft; add sugar, and beat until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and eggs, and beat until fluffy. Add molasses and beat until well-mixed.

2. Sift the dry ingredients; add to the mixture, 1/3 at a time. Mix only until the dry ingredients become incorporated.

3. Line a 9″ x 5″ loaf pan with plastic wrap, so that some hangs over the outsides. Press the dough into the bottom of the pan. Pack it tightly, and try to make the top as level as possible. Cover the dough with the plastic overhangs. Freeze until very firm, preferably overnight.

4. Unwrap and remove dough from the pan. Slice brick into thin slices, no more than 1/8″. Place on a parchment or Silpat-lined sheetpan (space at least an inch apart) and bake at 175 degrees Celsius until the edges turn dark brown, 7-12 minutes, depending on how thinly you have sliced the dough. Check the oven for doneness at 7 minutes.

 

Impressions

I made a few variations that didn’t seem to turn out that well. For one, I used cooking margarine which will have a lower fat content so it makes it less firm. So you’ll have difficulty trying to slice it evenly after it’s supposedly frozen and it’s hard to cut thin pieces because of it. Using a loaf pan is probably a good idea so you’ll get a consistent shape. My cookies certainly look terrible unattractive so that’s a reason to use a loaf pan instead of just throwing it into the freezer on a flat surface.

The other change I made was to the sugar content, I halved roughly but the cookies come out slightly less sweet then I would have liked. Probably 3/4 cup brown sugar would be the right amount if you’re eating them like this. I think if you intended on icing these

Other than that, taste wise it’s pretty good. I added a tad more ground ginger maybe 1/2 tsp and it gives it a more pronounced flavour to it.

Would I try the recipe again? I might, the long “cooking” time is a bit of a disincentive as you’ll have to wait one night or so to bake it but if I had an abundance of free time it’s worth a shot to try and perfect it.

Merry Xmas and have a safe and joyous New Year!