I have a rather large spice cabinet, by the way. It's getting larger, too, despite my vow to not buy more than I need. Apparently, I need quite a few.
INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup shortening
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cardamom
1/8 teaspoon garam masala
1 egg
1/3 cup molasses
2 cups all-purpose flour
granulated sugar
DIRECTIONS
Beat butter and shortening together with an electric mixer. Add the 3/4 cup granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, salt, and spices. Beat until combined, scraping the sides of the bowl to make sure you get all the butter into the mix. Beat in the egg and molasses, then beat in the flour. If you're using an electric hand mixer, you may have to do some of the beating by hand. KitchenAid and other upright mixers won't have much trouble, even though the dough becomes incredibly thick.
Cover and chill for 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Place sugar in a small bowl. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll the balls in the sugar and place 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet (or a foiled one, as I do).
Bake 8-10 minutes or until the tops of the cookies are crackled and the edges firm. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool.
(Yield: approximately 50 gingersnaps)
VERDICT:
These cookies were, as always, a bit of an experiment. I like my cookies to be very flavorful, and spicy almost to the point of endurance. Don't worry, I always tone them down for public consumption. And these will be consumed publicly, as I'm taking them in to work tomorrow. They have a nice bite--the ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and cinnamon lend the usual richness of flavor, but the cardamom and garam masala give the cookies a little extra punch. Really, they're quite delectable. Crunchy on the outside ... and soft on the inside. Purr-fection.
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