The flavor of ginger, to me, is essentially an autumnal and wintry scent. Reminscent of spicy smells emanating from the oven, I love it in everything from my favorite Christmas ham recipe, to my favorite holiday cookie recipe, which I’m sharing with you below!
I’ve augmented the recipe this year to make it a bit healthier, with a return to more natural sugars and whole wheat flour as the majority, and the results were great. Frankly, I didn’t notice a change in taste nor texture, so am happy to share it with you!
1 cup muscovado sugar (dark brown sugar was the original ingredient and may be substituted if you don’t have muscovado)
1/2 cup rapadura (white sugar was the original ingredient and may be substituted if you don’t have rapadura), plus a few teaspoons extra for sprinkling
1 large egg
1/4 cup of crystallized ginger, chopped
2 Tablespoons unsulphured molasses
Zest of one orange
Juice of half an orange
2 cups White Whole Wheat flour or whole wheat pastry flour
1-1/4 cups all purpose flour, unbleached
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
In a large bowl beat butter with muscovado sugar and rapadura until light and fluffy. Add egg, beating until combined well. Add crystallized ginger, molasses, zest and orange juice.
In a medium size bowl sift all remaining dry ingredients. Add dry ingredients to wet and beat until just combined.
Halve dough and on a sheet of wax paper, form each piece into a log, roughly 10-inches log. Chill logs, wrapped in wax paper, at least overnight and up to a week. May also be further wrapped in a freezer bag and frozen for several months. If frozen, allow to defrost in the fridge before baking. (I frequently make one log at a time and like to keep one in the freezer for fresh baked cookies whenever I want them!)
When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees Farhenheit and lightly grease baking sheets or use parchment paper.
Cut logs into 1/4-inch thick slices. With each slice, quickly roll the dough into a ball about the size of a walnut and arrange 2-inches apart on baking sheets (rolling the dough into balls makes the cookies softer. They spread when baking so make sure there is ample space between them). Lightly sprinkle cookies with additional rapadura and bake in batches in middle of oven 10 – 15 minutes until golden brown. Transfer cookies to racks to cool. Makes about 80 cookies.
This recipe makes a fantastic, spicy, not too sweet cookie that is perfect for a mid-afternoon snack with coffee or tea. The orange juice and zest really perk up the flavors and the crystallized ginger allows an extra special chewy texture to the cookie that I adore. Enjoy!
This recipe is also a participant in the Nourishing Gourmet’s Nourishing Sweets and Treats carnival! Please go visit Kimi’s site to view the other participant’s recipes!
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