I love gingersnaps! When I was younger, we'd stock up when they hit the stores once a year, just in fall, in the orange and black boxes. Dipped in milk, they were just perfect. And so much better, because they were only available for a short time. Now, of course, I make my own, but still only at this time of year. They're just tied to fall. This is the very best recipe for gingersnaps, I promise! But I don't make them as crisp snaps. Instead, I soft-bake them for a rich, chewy texture that just bursts with spice. They're unbelievably easy and so irresistible!
Makes about 5 dozen cookies
3/4 cup butter
2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup dark molasses
Juice of 1 lime
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 3/4 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
About 1/4-1/3 cup white sugar for coating
Preheat oven to 350.
For best results, use a stand mixer with a paddle attachment. Handheld mixer will also work (avoid the whisk attachment). Cream the butter with the sugar until fluffy. Beat in the eggs and then the rest of the wet ingredients until smooth. Stir together all the dry ingredients, except for the white sugar. Slowly mix the dry into the wet mixture in batches until fully combined. Mixture will be somewhat stiff. Chill the dough for about an hour, if you have time. This really does help, but as a baker with very little patience, I can attest that you can move right on to the next step and it'll be alright.
Roll the dough into 1-inch balls and roll each ball in the white sugar to coat. Place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, leaving plenty of room to spread (I usually fit 20-24 on a full-size sheet -- do NOT overcrowd!). Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes. Cookies will spread, rise, and then begin to crack. Dough inside the cracks will look wet and raw at first, and very soon begin to dry. Cookies are soft just as the dough starts to lose its gloss. For crisp cookies, cook until the dough looks completely dry in the cracks. Do NOT let the cookies get dark around the edges -- they will develop a dark bitter burnt taste. If you overshoot the soft stage, then, well done, you've made a traditional gingersnap! If you need the cookies to last for a while, go for the crisp texture. It will not go stale as quickly. In my experience, they never last that long!
Leave cookies on the sheet for a minute just to set, and then move to a rack to cool. Throw out the paper, and remove any sugar dust from the cookie sheet, and shove that right back in your cabinet and congratulate yourself on not having to wash a bunch of cookie sheets.
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