Ginger Snap Cookies

Back in the day when I was gainfully employed, a fellow co-worker made the best-ever ginger snap cookies -- spicy, sugary, crisp and chewy all at once. While I was pregnant, she'd even bake a batch for me, but alas, I never got the recipe. It has been my mission for almost 16 years to find it. I discovered many pretty good/pretty close recipes along the way, but not "the one" ...Until I was at the library in the cooking section last weekend and found "The Weekend Baker" by Abigail Johnson Dodge with the cookies on the cover! They looked just like Libby's! I flipped to page 136 and saw the ingredient list for "Ginger Crackles" was slightly different than all the others I tried previously. I went home and started baking and I think these are them. I made it using the measuring cups -- the author is a big believer in using the scales for measuring. Next time I'll try it that way. I know back when Burda WOF used to have recipes and the ingredients were listed by weight, my German friend said that was the way she and her mom always baked.

GINGER SNAPS/GINGER CRACKLES

2 1/4 cups (10 ounces) all purpose flour

2 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon table salt

8 tablespoons (4 ounces) unsalted butter, room temperature

1/4 cup (2 ounces) vegetable shortening

1 cup (8 ounces) sugar, plus 2/3 cup (5 1/4 ounces) for rolling

1 large egg

1/4 cup (2 fluid ounces) light molasses

Position an oven rack on the middle rung. Heat the oven to 350. Line 2 large cookie sheets with parchment or non-stick baking liners. In a large bowl, combine the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt. Whisk until well blended. In another large bowl, combine the butter, shortening and 1 cup sugar. Beat with an electric mixer on medium high speed until well combined. Add the egg and molasses and beat until well blended. Pour in the dry ingredients and mix on low speed until well blended. Pour the remaining 2/3 cup sugar into a shallow bowl. Shape the dough into 1" balls. Roll each ball in the sugar and set 2" apart on the prepared cookie sheets. Bake one sheet at a time until puffed and lightly browned around the edges, about 13 minutes. Transfer the cookie sheet to a rack and let cool for 5 minutes. Using a spatula, lift the cookies from the sheet onto a rack and let cool completely.

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The book is well-organized and easy to follow. I like how the author presents many of the recipes with do-ahead sections. Such as for this recipe she says:

The dough can be made, shaped and balls coated with sugar and then frozen for up to 2 months before baking. For best results, position the shaped dough snugly on a small cookie sheet and freeze until very firm. Then pile the frozen balls into a heavy-duty freezer bag and store in the freezer. When you're ready to bake, remove only the number of cookies you need, place on prepared cookie sheet and leave them on the counter while the oven heats up.

The Weekend Baker, Abigail Johnson Dodge, 2005, ISBN: 0-393-05883-2, Library Call No. 641.815 Publisher's list price $30