Ginger Snaps

Just in time for Christmas comes this delightful vintage gingersnap recipe, so easy that it can be made after a long day of work. And this recipe is special -- I rarely know the genesis of the recipes I collect, but a very generous reader, Carol Suring of  Suring,Wisconsin, send me a wonderful collection of her mother-in-law's recipes. (Plus a handwritten recipe-filled notebook that belonged to her grandmother!)  The recipes were inherited by Carol when her mother-in-law, who spent her whole life in Oconto County in northeast Wisconsin, passed away. "She was a good cook and was always looking for new and different things to cook," writes Carol. This is certainly true, for the collection was filled with confections I've never before encountered, things like coconut washboards, for example. I know I'll be baking from this lovely gift for months to come.

Now, on the the gingersnaps. Combine the butter, sugar, egg and molasses (in that order) and mix well.

While that's beating, put all the dry ingredients in another bowl, and whisk to combine.

Roll into balls. I did them all at once, then placed them on cookie sheets.

Bake and enjoy. The crinkled tops on some of the cookies resulted on single pans of cookies in the oven. But in the interest of time, I mostly baked two sheets simultaneously.

Like many recipe cards in this collection, it was typed on the back of a card soliciting subscriptions to the Wisconsin Cancer Bulletin.  The recipe method is not included (because doesn't everyone know how to put together a cookie dough?), so I've rewritten the recipe as I made it, with detailed instructions, below.

Production notes: The dough was a bit sticky, so I briefly refrigerated it before rolling. I didn't notice any difference when I added drops of water to some of them, so you can skip that step. These are rather mildly spiced, so you can increase the amount of ginger if you like a spicier cookie.

Ginger Snaps

Preheat oven to 350F

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup butter (1 1/2 sticks), softened
1 c brown sugar
1 egg
1/4 c molasses
1 1/2 t. baking soda
1 t ground ginger
1/2 t salt
1/2 t cloves
1 t cinnamon

Beat butter and add sugar. Beat until light and fluffy.
Add egg and molasses and beat well.
Mix dry ingredients together in a separate bowl and add to mixture.
Combine well, but don't over-beat.
Refrigerate dough if it's too sticky.
Roll dough into balls about one-inch diameter
Roll one side in white sugar.
Place on cookie sheet (lined with parchment) about two inches apart.
Bake seven to 10 minutes.

Gingersnaps

If you can't bear to cut out another Christmas cookie, consider this festive -- and snappy -- holiday cookie. Not only are these gingersnaps delicious, but they are very easy to prepare. That's because the dough is formed into logs and sliced, relieving the baker of the tedious task of rolling and using cookie cutters. It's a modern-day incarnation of the refrigerator cookie, once a staple of nearly every mid-20th kitchen. Today it is seen most often in the slice-and-bake versions manufactured by Nestle's and the like.

This is not a vintage recipe, though it is over 20 years old. It's from a charming children's cookbook, Fanny at Chez Panisse by Alice Waters. Fanny is Alice's daughter. (For those who've been living in a cave the past 30 or so years, Alice is the chef who invented the farm-to-table movement, and so much more. Her restaurant is a not-to-be-missed experience in Berkeley, California.)

Start by mixing the butter and sugar. Add in the egg, vanilla and molasses.

The dough will be quite stiff after the dry ingredients are incorporated.

Form into three balls, cover in plastic and refrigerate.

Roll the dough into logs, wrap in plastic and freeze for 30 minutes. (Though I did this right from the refrigerator and it worked fine.)

Slice into cookies.

Place on parchment lined cookie sheet and sprinkle with sugar if desired. I used pearl sugar, purchased a while back at Ikea.

Close up of unbaked cookie.

Gingersnaps from Fanny at Chez Panisse

2 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature
1 c plus 6 T sugar
1/2 t vanilla extract
1 egg
1/3 c molasses
3 c flour
1/2 t salt
1 1/2 t cinnamon
1 1/2 t powdered ginger

Preheat oven to 350 F

Beat butter with sugar until light and fluffy.
Add the vanilla, egg and molasses and continue creaming until well combined.
In another bowl, combine the flour and spices.
Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and combine well.
Divide the dough into three equal portions, wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.
On a lightly floured board, roll each piece of dough into a log-shaped cylinder that's about 1 3/4 inches in diameter.
Wrap in plastic and freeze about 30 minutes, or til firm.
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Slice the logs into cookies about 1/4 inch thick and place on the cookie sheet.
Sprinkle with sugar, if desired.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes.
Cool and enjoy.

I Name Thee Gingersnaps

Last Saturday, I hosted a dinner party attended by some very knowledgeable  food world folks but fortunately one of them, Arthur Schwartz (along with his charming partner Bob Harned) brought the main course -- delicious barbecue from Fletcher's in Brooklyn.  Responsible only for dessert, I decided to make Three-Ingredient Lemon Chiffon Pie (thinking it would be a refreshing counterpoint to the rich entree) and some cookies (pictured above) from a "new" old recipe in my collection.

The recipe intrigued me for three reasons: it was untitled (as in what kind of cookies are these?), its unusual method of preparation, and because of a note at the bottom of the scrap of paper on which it was written:  Cookies from Mrs. Martin she had gotten it from Edith's mother.  (More on these wonderful cookies later in the post.)

The dinner got off to a most inauspicious start or, as Arthur said, it was "fakakta."  First, the DH was called into work last-minute.  Arthur and Bob, upon arrival at my place, discovered that the barbecue order was missing some essential dishes, and had to return to Fletcher's.  Aylin OneyTan, the renowned Turkish food writer visiting New York for a cookbook conference, was running late.  But not as late as two other guests, Joe Mizrahi, of Smokin' Joe's True Blue Texas Barbecue  and his girlfriend Lilly Braun Goldbard whose family emergency found them an hour away in Jamaica, Queens, when they should have been in Brooklyn.

But it all turned out fine.  The DH arrived home in time for the end of the main course.  Arthur and Bob got the missing ribs -- and a parking spot.  Aylin arrived bearing wonderful Turkish treats (more on that below), and Joe and Lilly made it here in record time, though Joe, in his rush, did not bring the artisenal hot dogs and kielbasa he made and wanted us to try. Hopefully, there will be a next time.

From left: Joe, Lilly, the DH (Paul), Arthur, Aylin and Bob.

Now, on to dessert.  These cookies, which are really gingersnaps, are delicious, even better the day after they're baked.  You can make then thin and "snappy" or make them a bit thicker and softer.   They're excellent in both incarnations.

In most cookie recipes, one creams the butter and sugar.  This recipe calls for boiling sugar and molasses, and then melting the butter in the hot mixture. Aylin, an expert in Turkish cuisine, said she was familiar with this technique, but I've rarely seen it in American recipes.

When the mixture is cool, the eggs are added.

The dry ingredients, among them flour, cinnamon and ginger.

The recipe says to "add flour enough to roll."  I used about five cups.  This makes a lot of cookies.  You can cut them with any cookie cutter, but I'd recommend one not exceeding 1.5 to 2 inches.  The dough is sticky and smaller cookies are easier to transport the baking tray.

If you want a soft, chewier cookie, roll the dough a bit thicker and reduce the baking time.  Do the opposite if you want a crispy cookie.

These cookies played second fiddle to the pie (as cookies often do) but if I'd not had so much wine, I would have remembered to serve what would have been the evening's highlight dessert -- Pismaniye.  This Turkish sweet, brought by Aylin, looks like string (below).  It's made by blending flour roasted in butter into pulled sugar and is sort of like cotton candy, so it's fun to eat, but has a more interesting texture and more complex flavor.

I should have figured Aylin would have brought something interesting.  She led a Context tour that the DH and I took in Istanbul, introducing us to all sorts of mind-blowing foods.  And even though she lives in Turkey, I can still follow her (and so can you!) as she writes the Fork and Cork column in the English-language Hurriyet Daily News.

Finally, the cookie recipe!

Gingersnaps
1 C sugar
1 C molasses
1 C butter (two sticks)
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp. baking soda dissolved in 1 tbs. hot water
1 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
5 (or more) cups of flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Bring sugar and molasses to a boil.  Turn off heat and add butter. When mixture is cool, add beaten eggs.  Mix thoroughly and add baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, salt and flour.  Add flour one cup at a time.
You can refrigerate dough to make it a bit easier to roll out, or simply roll out immediately.  Place cookies on parchment lined baking sheet.
Bake cookies for about 8 minutes.

Note: You can control the texture of the cookies by rolling them thinner or thicker and baking them longer for a crispier texture, less for a chewier cookie.
I sprinkled the cookies with a pearl sugar for visual interest, but this step isn't necessary.