Christmas Baking: Gingersnaps

I've been making these gingersnaps around Christmas for several years, since Molly Birnbaum published the recipe on her blog My Madeleine.  I like gingersnaps in general, and these are the best version I've found.  The inclusion of whole-wheat flour in addition to white flour gives an extra richness to the flavor and texture.


Gingersnaps

Adapted from Kim Boyce(and Amy Scattergood)’s Good to the Grain

Wet ingredients:

1 stick unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup unsulfured molasses (not blackstrap)

2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger

1 egg

Dry ingredients:

1 cup whole-wheat flour

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon clove

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

To finish:

1/2 cup sugar

Mix together the melted butter, sugars, molasses, ginger, and egg.  Sift the dry ingredients into the same bowl.  Stir to form a batter.  Wrap the dough in plastic and chill for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, positioning two racks to the upper and lower third.  Grease two baking sheets.  Pour the final 1/2 cup of sugar into a bowl.

Pluck pieces of dough around one tablespoon in size, toss in the bowl of sugar, and then roll into balls.  Toss each ball back into the sugar for a second time, rolling them around until, as Boyce says, “they are sparkly white.”  Place each on the baking sheets, leaving at least 2 inches between them all. 

Bake for 10 – 15 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through, until the cookies are dark in color and even all the way across.  When out of the oven, immediately transfer to a cooling rack with a metal spatula. These cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to three days.  (That is, if they last that long.)



(Hint: The fresh ginger I had was fibrous enough it didn't want to grate well.  I minced it instead, then put the minced ginger and melted butter in the blender and pureed long enough to chop the ginger even more finely.)