Ginger Cookies - Recipe 4 (part 2)

GINGER COOKIES

Soft, chewy morsels with plenty of spice

Yields: 30 cookies
Prep time: 20 minutes
Chilling time: 1 hour
Cooking time: 10-12 minutes

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 and ½ teaspoons ground ginger
1 and ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon allspice
2 teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup crystallized ginger, chopped
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar, packed
½ cup vegetable shortening, at room temperature
¼ cup sweet (unsalted) butter, softened
1 large egg, lightly beaten
¼ cup light molassesVegetable oil cooking spray
White sugar for dusting

1. Combine the first 7 ingredients in a medium-sized bowl and stir until they are blended.

2. Add the crystallized ginger to the flour mixture and set the bowl aside.

3. Beat the brown sugar, shortening and butter in a large mixing bowl until the mixture if smooth and creamy (electric mixture would be helpful).

4. Add the egg and molasses to the sugar mixture and beat until thoroughly blended.

5. Add the flour mixture to the sugar and egg mixture, a little at a time, stirring to combine them.

6. Cover the bowl and refrigerate the dough for at least 1 hour (you may refrigerate the dough overnight if you want).

7. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray two cookies sheets lightly with cooking spray. Spoon the sugar for dusting onto a small plate and set aside.

8. Form the cookie dough into 1-inch balls by rolling them in the palm of your hand. When done, roll the balls in sugar until they are coated completely. Place the balls on the cookie sheets about 2 inches apart, to allow the cookies to spread during the baking.

9. Bake the cookies just until cracks appear on their tops, about 10 minutes. The cookies should still be slightly soft. Remove the cookies from the oven, and allow them to cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes.

10. Transfer the cookies to wire racks and allow them to cool completely. Serve or store in a zip-top plastic bag in the freezer.

TIPS
What is it? Where do I find it?
Crystallized Ginger: available in most supermarkets, it is made by cooking fresh ginger in sugar syrup and coating it with coarse sugar. The dried powdered ginger is far less potent, and should not be substituted for the crystallized ginger in these cookies.
Molasses: Most supermarkets carry this sweetner, made of juice pressed from sugar cane that has been slowly cooked until much of the moisture has evaporated and the syrup is dark and very thick. Light or dark molasses can be used in the cookie recipe; the dark has a more robust flavor.
Vegetable shortening: This is a solid fat that gives the ginger cookie its traditional texture. Substituting butter or liquid vegetable oil is not recommended for this recipe.
Other thoughts*.I've seen "blackstrap" molasses in the stores. Is it good in this recipe??? - It's very thick and dark, and somewhat bitter tasting, due to longer cooking when it was made. It will give the cookies a stronger flavor. Why mix the butter and sugar, then the eggs, then the dry ingredients? Why not just dump in all of the ingredients together? - Butter and sugar tend to lump if egg (a binding agent) is added before they are creamed together. The minute dry ingredients such as baking powder and soda get wet they will start working to release gases that make the cookies rise. Mixing them first with the flour allows them to be added evenly to the wet ingredients, so the cookie batter will rise more evenly.