I love ginger cookies this time of year. I made this recipe last week. It was a ginger cookie recipe by actress Jessica Collins I found in the December 27, 2011 issue of Soap Opera Digest. Pretty good!
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tbs ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 sticks butter – 12 tbs – a little colder than room temp
1 cup granulated white sugar
1 large egg
1/4 cup dark molasses
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Cinnamon sugar: 1/3 cup sugar, 1/2 tsp cinnamon mixed in a small bowl
Mix together flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, baking soda, salt.
With a mixer, beat butter & sugar until light & fluffy – about 1 minute.
Beat in egg, molasses, vanilla on medium speed – about 1 minute.
Turn mixer to low & gradually add flour mixture. Do not overmix.
Form dough into a loose disk & wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. – Apparently this is a great cookie baking secret, so don’t skip this step.
Preheat oven to 350. Let dough sit for 10 minutes at room temperature.
Pinch off small amounts of dough and roll into a ball. Roll each ball into cinnamon sugar and place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
Place balls 2 1/2 inches apart on cookie sheet. Bake for 15 – 17 minutes.
Cookies are done when they are set and slightly cracked on top.
Note: Cookies will puff up and flatten.
Sprinkle warm cookies with a pinch more of cinnamon sugar and cool on a wire rack.
Jessica Collins used to play Dinah Lee on the soap opera Loving. She now plays Avery on The Young and the Restless. She also has her own cooking website: http://www.jessicacollins.tv/