Supersized Ginger Chewies
Elinor Klivans; BigFatCookies
2 ¼ cups unbleached all purpose flour
2 t. baking soda
¼ t. salt
1 t. ground cinnamon
1 t. ground ginger
½ t. cloves
1 ½ sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
¼ cup molasses
About ¼ cup granulated sugar
(t=teaspoon; T=tablespoon)
Position rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Sift the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and cloves into a medium bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter and brown sugar until smoothly belnded, about 1 minute. Scrape the sides of the mixing bowl as needed. Add the egg and molasses and mix until blended and an even light brown color, about 1 minute. On low speed, add the flour mixture, mixing just to incorporate it.
Spread the granulated sugar on a large piece of waxed paper. Roll ¼ cup of cookie dough between the palms of your hands into a 2 inch ball, roll the ball in sugar and place on one of the prepared baking sheets. Continue making cookies, spacing them 2 inches apart.
Bake the cookies 1 sheet at a time until the tops feel firm but they are still soft in the center and there are several large cracks on the top, about 14 minutes. Cool the cookies on baking sheets for 5 minutes, then use a wide metal spatula to transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
The cookies can be stored in a tightly covered container at room temperature for up to 4 days.
Yield: 14 cookies
The flavor of these cookies was perfect...beyond compare. I substituted half the butter with Fleishmann's margarine as I thought the butter would produce a cookie too thin for my liking. These cookies still turned out very thin, but very soft.

I would like a thicker cookie...the picture in the cookbook shows a much thicker cookie. I wonder if using all margarine would help this? Although I enjoyed the buttery flavor which was discernable even with all the other spicy flavors going on. I'm open to your feedback and suggestions!
Technorati Tags:
ginger snaps, cookies, autumn, ginger,
5 comments :
Oh I loooooove ginger cookies - and just like you, I enjoy them soft once in a while. I also enjoy adding some finely chopped crystallized ginger in for an extra kick!
Hi Elizabeth!
I totally agree with you about the fall. it got something cosy, right? sitting curdled up inside with hot coco and gingersnaps...=) but at the same time I also miss summer...
these cookies sound nice. I love the photo of your choc.chip cookies! =)
Elizabeth, I think that margarine does help of the falling effect. Using all butter tends to make a flatter cookie. Try a combination of butter and margarine. This will help with the flattening but may retain some of the butter flavor. Another possible solution is to add just a little more flour. Sometimes if my cookies are too flat I'll add a little flour to the batter; it usually helps, you just have to be careful not to add too much. These cookies look good. I have a molasses cookie recipe that I love. One time I overbaked them and they turned into ginger snaps! :-)
I think the baking soda makes the cookie flatter. Try using less for more a puffy cookie.
Hi Elizabeth, I tend to stay away from margarine in cookies, and I think reducing the baking soda could be a mistake. The only thing I can think is to add more flour. The photos look like under-floured chocolate chip cookies I have seen. I have a similar recipe with many common spices to this recipe on my site called Molasses Softies. Maybe some ideas there on how to alter your recipe.
I love the 11:55pm post time--sounds like when I do my posts!
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