Crispy Gingersnaps
Flavored with cinnamon and cloves as well as ginger, these crispy cookies are great with vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt. They also make a delicious pie crust in place of graham cracker crumbs.
Makes about 2 dozen 2 1/2 – to 3-inch cookies
1/2 cup vegetable shortening or 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup molasses
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
Additional sugar, to garnish, optional
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
2. Lightly grease 2 baking sheets and set aside.
3. Cream together the shortening and 1 cup of the sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until the mixture is light and fluffy.
4. Add the egg to the sugar mixture and beat well. Slowly add the molasses and beat until well blended.
5. Sift together the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and salt in a separate bowl and stir to mix.
6. Add the flour mixture to the sugar and egg mixture and beat until just combined; do not overmix.
7. Scoop the dough with a 1/4-cup (2 ounce) ice cream scoop or by the heaping tablespoon and drop onto the prepared baking sheets about 3 inches apart.
8. Press the cookies flat with the back of a spatula to a thickness of about 1/4 inch. Sprinkle the cookies with the remaining sugar.
9. Bake 15 to 18 minutes, until the cookies are crispy and crackled on the top. Cool 5 to 10 minutes on the baking sheets before removing the cookies to a baking rack to cool completely.