Three Ginger Cookies

  

I realized the other day that fall would be disappointed in me if I failed to dish out another ginger cookie recipe.

Delicious as they are, ginger cookies deserve to be eaten year round. Yet it’s just plain silly to argue with the fact that they taste their very best when the weather starts to turn cold. Of course, in response to that, my fellow Førde residents would poke me in the ribs and remind me that sweet lady summer never showed her face this year. Sure, I posted a trip to the beach, but I can assure you that not more than a toe made contact with the ocean. This was one cold summer, friends. Truth be told, it’s the fjords that draw people to Norway. Not the pina coladas and Indian summers.

 

This site’s first autumn debuted these chewy sweethearts. Molasses, light sugar coating, my coffee cup’s best friend. I’ve made them at least four times since then and have hogged them all each and every time.

Come the holidays, I posted the quintessential Scandinavian Christmas cookie, the pepparkaker. Crispy, cute, and fresh all winter long. Yea, you can pick them up at IKEA these days, but if you make your own, then you can go beyond just the star and heart shapes- fat little piggies and the state of Minnesota, anyone?

 

Then the following autumn (that would be last year), I came out with a new killer. Or rather, Martha Stewart did and I told you how good they are. Chocolate, zippy, and so damn satisfying. The best of two fantastic worlds.

Which brings us up to the present. The Transplanted Baker’s third autumn. Motherhood. A mortgage. Goodness me, even a Volvo station wagon. With all these things came the need for something a little more…grown-up. Allow me to present this fall’s ginger cookie. Fresh, ground, and crystallized ginger. Sea salt. Turbinado sugar. If these cookies could talk, they would say, “Ka Pow!” And then they’d ask you to share them with all the cool moms at the PTA.

  

Try them. Love them. And meet me here again in a year for yet another ginger cookie.

 

Three Ginger Cookies

Ingefærkjeks 

Loosely  based on this recipe from 101cookbooks.com

*makes about 4 dozen tiny cookies

2 cups (240 g) all-purpose

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 Tablespoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon salt (preferably fine grain sea salt)

1/2 cup (4 oz / 113 g) unsalted butter

1/4 cup (60 ml) unsulphured molasses

1/3 cup (65 g) granulated sugar

3/4 cup (135 g) turbinado sugar, divided (1/4 cup (45 g) for cookie dough + 1/2 cup (90 g) for rolling cookies before baking)

1 1/2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger, peeled

1 large egg

1/2 cup (40 g) crystallized ginger, finely chopped

1. Preheat the oven to 350F /180C and place baking racks in the top and bottom third of the oven. Line a couple baking sheets with parchment paper and place the 1/2 cup of turbinado sugar in a small bowl. Set aside.

2. In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, ground ginger, and salt.

3. Heat the butter in a saucepan until it is just barely melted. Remove from heat and stir in the molasses, granulated sugar, 1/4 cup of turbinado sugar, and fresh ginger. The mixture should be warm, but not hot at this point, if it is hot to the touch let it cool a bit. Whisk in the egg. Now pour this over the flour mixture, and stir until just combined. Fold in the crystallized ginger.

4. Form rounded teaspoon-sized balls of dough and roll in the reserved bowl of turbinado sugar until each ball is well coated. Place dough a few inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Bake for 7-10 minutes or until cookies puff up, darken a bit, and become very fragrant. Allow to cool on wire racks. 

Comments

[Sassy Molassy]

MMm...I do love me some ginger cookies that is for sure. Yest I purchased (the shame, i know) a box of almond windmill cookies from Trader Joe's. They are absolutely divine and go perfectly with a cup of coffee!

[Jessica]

Yum! My husband just baked some ginger cookies this afternoon, next time we'll have to add crystallized ginger--sounds like a delicious addition!

[Kelly Bohl]

Oh my, triple ginger cookies? You are bringing a tear of joy to my eye. I am crazy about all things ginger these days, from making my own ginger ale (thanks Alton Brown!), ginger in thai soups, and peach-ginger jam. I will be making some of these cookies soon, probably with some sugar syrup from my jar of sugar-preserved ginger. Mmmmmm I can't wait to try these out!

[Tammy]

I am mad or all things ginger. I don't think I have found a dish with ginger to dislike, from curry to ice cream to soup. I too add ginger to jam, especially my reine-claude (greengage plum) jam.

I am pretty certain molasses and ginger were born to go together. The funny thing is French people aren't so familiar with this combination. I might just start using this recipe to begin converting my neighbors...Thank you!

[Jes]

These look amazing!! I must try making them soon!

[Quay Po Cooks]

I must make Ginger cookies with your recipe this Christmas. I am sure I will get lots of oos and aahs from my guests! Thanks for sharing the recipe.