Ginger Snaps

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Chewy on the inside with a lightly crisp exterior, this perfectly spiced ginger snap cookie recipe has stood the test of time and is a welcome addition to any cookie platter!

One bite of Ed Mills’ ginger snap cookies took me right back to my grandmother’s kitchen.

The warm, spiced aroma and flavor to match. The tender, chewy insides and a lightly crisp exterior. A hint of crunch from the sugar coating.

These molasses-infused cookies were ginger snap perfection and clear justification as to why this cookie has stood the test of time.

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This was also the reason Ed’s cookies were a winner in the Fig magazine holiday cookie contest, which was run in partnership with Garden Spot Village and I had the great pleasure of judging.

When I met Ed at the close of the contest, he told me the recipe, which he still makes regularly, was passed down to him by his mother who got the recipe from her mother. Ed went on to tell me that their family was Pennsylvania Dutch, and his mother was born in 1902 (on Valentine’s Day!) on a farm in Frysville, PA.

Ed has fond memories of visiting that farm when he was a boy in the 1930s and enjoying many batches of the ginger snaps while there. He also mentioned that his mother lived to the remarkable age 104 – to the day, as she passed away on Valentine’s Day 2006.

It struck me how food, so often, serves as a wonderful way to keep the memories of our loved ones alive. I’m sure Ed’s mother and grandmother would be delighted to know he is still baking the gingersnaps, and that they can now be considered award winners!

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Ginger Snaps

Looking for the classic ginger snap recipe? This is it! These cookies are tender and chewy on the inside with a lightly crisp exterior. They're perfectly spiced too – just like your grandmother made them!

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Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 25 minutes minutes

Servings 3 dozen

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Ingredients

 

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• ¾ cup shortening*
• 1 cup granulated sugar (plus more for rolling)
• 2 cup all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup molasses (like Grandmas Molasses or Brer Rabbit full flavor)
• 1 egg
• 2 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon cloves
• ½ teaspoon ginger
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon salt

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375℉.
2. In a large bowl using a hand or stand mixer, beat the shortening  and sugar until combined. Add the molasses and egg and beat until light and fluffy.
3. Sift the flour, baking soda, cloves, ginger, cinnamon, and salt into a separate bowl. 
4. Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture (I do this in 2-3 additions) and mix until thoroughly combined and a soft dough forms. 
5. Form into 1-inch balls and roll in granulated sugar. 
6. Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet about 2” apart for 8 –10 minutes, or until the tops are rounded and slightly cracked but the cookies don’t look moist in the creases.  
7. Let the cookies sit for about 5 minutes on the baking sheet before moving to a cooling rack. 
8. Storage: The cooled ginger snaps will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week. The cookies freeze well too.

Notes

*Shortening versus butter: Cookies made with shortening bake up taller and are more tender, while the same recipe made with butter tends to yield flatter and sometimes crisper cookies. In other words, if you substitute butter in this recipe, the flavor will still be delicious, but the cookies will not hold their shape quite as well.

Some tips if you do want to make that swap:

1. Cover the dough and chill for a minimum of 2 hours.
2. Make sure your baking sheets are cool when placing the next batch of cookies on them.
3. Once rolled, keep the dough balls that are awaiting their stint in the oven in the refrigerator until ready to bake.

Is there a shortening with no hydrogenated fat? While Crisco shortening has long been the gold standard for baking, Spectrum’s vegetable shortening provides an alternative that is free of hydrogenated fat.

**Sugar for rolling: Granulated sugar works well, although a coarser sugar like demerara, turbinado, raw or cane sugar may be used to add a hint of extra texture and glisten. You could also mix things up and roll the gingersnaps in cinnamon sugar.

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