Soft Ginger Cookies

Christmas is almost here! If you are anything like me, you are in full Christmas mode- the gifts are wrapped, the halls are decked, and your house smells like sugar and spice and everything nice. We are doing Christmas with both sides of the family this year so that means that we will be hitting the ground running once guests arrive this evening. I have spent the last few days rushing around trying to get everything together and my house clean before everyone gets here and it has been quite the whirlwind! Lucky for you, one of the things that I have been working on so diligently are these soft ginger cookies. They are warm and cozy and firmly in the Christmas cookie category even though they don’t contain royal icing and sprinkles.

When developing this recipe, one of the issues I kept running into was cookie spread-age (I don’t think that is the technical term, but…) so I wanted to address that a little in today’s post. It is the absolute worst when you go through all of the trouble of making and scooping cute little cookie balls (or even worse, rolling and cutting out shapes) only to have your cookies morph into one large, crispy cookie sheet as soon as you stick them in the oven. Here are a few precautions and things you can take note of in order to help prevent this catastrophe!

-Ingredients: First things first, check your recipe ahead of time and know the purpose of each ingredient. White sugar, low protein flours (like cake and pastry), and a large amount of fat will all contribute to cookie spreading. This definitely doesn’t mean don’t use these things, just be mindful of the quantities and ratios and adjust your expectations accordingly. Baking soda will also cause spread and browning in cookies. Baking soda is needed to counteract acidic ingredients, like the molasses in these cookies, and it is much stronger than baking powder. In this recipe, I found that a blend of the two worked best to give my cookies balance and still keep them a little fluffy.

-Procedure: Using the creaming method for cookies, like we do in this recipe, is slightly different than using it for cakes. When you are creaming butter and sugar, you are creating space and trapping air bubbles in between your fat and the sugar crystals. Air bubbles then help to create leavening and give the carbon dioxide produced from the baking soda and powder a place to go, creating a light and fluffy crumb. This is great in cakes, but not so great in keeping cookies from spreading. When creaming the butter and sugar for cookies, you aren’t going for “light and fluffy”, but more of a “thoroughly combined” mixture. The final steps you can take to help safeguard against cookie spreading is 1) chill your dough- this allows the fat to re-solidify, so it doesn’t melt as quickly in the oven; 2) do not spray your cookie sheet- use parchment or a silpat, but don’t add any more grease that those cookies can slip around in; and 3) bake your cookies at a higher temperature for a shorter amount of time-if your oven temperature is too low, it may allow too much time for cookies to spread.

David Lebovitz also has a really great article (with lots of links!) for some more tips and tricks on preventing cookie spreading here.

Happy Holidays and happy baking! This week, may your homes be filled with laughter, your glasses filled with Champagne, and may your cookies keep their shapes! Merry Christmas!

Soft Ginger Cookies 

Yield: approximately 30 cookies 

Ingredients: 

2 sticks butter, slightly softened

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs, room temperature

1/4 cup molasses

3 1/4 cup flour

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

6 tsp ground ginger

3/4 tsp cardamom

3/4 tsp ground cloves

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp vanilla extract 

Procedure: 

1. In a medium bowl, measure flour using the spoon and scoop method. Add baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, cardamom, and cloves. Whisk together and set aside. 

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add butter and sugar and beat until just combined (*see above for details). 

3. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add eggs one at a time, mixing until combined before adding the next. Mix in molasses and vanilla extract, making sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl. 

4. With the mixer on low speed, gradually add dry ingredients, mixing until everything is combined and no flour streaks remain. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for least 1 hour and up to 24 hours. 

5. When ready to bake: preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Use a small cookie scoop to arrange cookie balls on baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches of space between each cookie. Bake for 10-11 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies are just beginning to brown and the tops of the cookies are no longer wet. Let cookies cool on pan for at least 5 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. (Make sure to let the baking sheet cool before adding more cookie dough to prevent spreading in the oven.)

Decorating Ideas: 

*I glazed these with a cream cheese icing and topped them with crushed pistachios and freeze dried raspberries (ground into powder using a food processor) to give them a Christmas-y feel. To make the cream cheese icing, I melted half a block of cream cheese in a microwave safe bowl. I then added 1/4-1/2 cup of powdered sugar, and whisked until smooth. I added 1-2 tablespoons of heavy cream until the icing reached my desired consistency. Dunk the tops of the cookies in the glaze and then sprinkle with pistachios and raspberry. 

*To create a sugared ginger cookie more reminiscent of a ginger snap, roll the cookie balls in Demerara or turbinado sugar (or another coarsely ground sugar) before baking. 

*To create a clean, classic look, melt some white chocolate and drizzle it over the cookies or dip the cookies so that they are covered with white chocolate half moons. 

Harvest Cookies

Happy Thanksgiving Week! Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of the year. I love fall cooking and baking and for me, Thanksgiving is like the Olympics. It’s the one day of the year where it is completely reasonable and normal to over extend yourself, planning a feast full of intricate and time consuming dishes and I am just giddy over it. For the last 4 years, I have hosted our Thanksgiving dinner and I rarely make the same dishes twice. This year is different though, and we will be traveling for Thanksgiving, spending it with friends in Colorado. Sometimes, we need time consuming desserts. They are warm and cozy and an opportunity to make something a little bit special for those that you love. Other times, like when you are a Thanksgiving traveler, you need something a little quicker and easier to bring to the big dinner. In walks these harvest cookies.

A pumpkin oatmeal cookie, filled with toasted nuts and seeds and studded with chocolate chips, they are the perfect mix of autumn and ease and can be made way in advance (which is one of the biggest pros for a Thanksgiving dish). I chose a blend of pumpkin seeds, walnuts, and sunflower seeds, but you can use any nut/seed combination that you prefer. After mixing up the dough, I like to scoop them onto cookie sheets and freeze them. Then I transfer my cookie balls to a freezer bag and have fresh baked cookies in 15 minutes, any time I want. (Just add a couple extra minutes to your baking time if you are baking from frozen). The best part of these cookies is that with all their oats and seeds, you can also enjoy them Friday morning for breakfast, so consider double-batching it. If you’re still looking for one more, low maintenance, crowd-pleasing dessert to add to your Thanksgiving dinner table, you can put an end to your search and spend the rest of your week worrying about brining a turkey.

Recipe: Harvest Cookies

Yield: 18 large cookies

Ingredients: 

1 cup (230 g) butter, softened

3/4 cup (170 g) brown sugar

1/4 cup (80 g) maple syrup

1/4 cup (54 g) sugar

1 egg yolk

1 cup (266 g) canned pumpkin

1 T vanilla extract

1 1/2 cup (200 g) all purpose flour

3 cups oats, toasted*

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp cardamom

1/4 tsp cloves

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 cup nuts (I used walnuts, pepitas, and sunflower seeds), toasted and chopped 

1 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Procedure: 

1. In a medium bowl, mix together flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, and nutmeg. Set aside. 

2. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugars until light and fluffy. 

3. Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Add the vanilla and the pumpkin and mixed until combined. 

4. Gradually add the dry ingredients, mixing until just combined. Add oats and nuts and mix until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips. 

5. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 12 hours.

6. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. 

7. Using a large cookie scoop (or ice cream scoop), place balls of cookie dough 2” apart on the baking sheets. Bake for 12-14 minutes, until browning and dry to the touch. Allow cookies to cool on the pan for 3-5 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack. 

*Notes: Let’s talk about toasting oats. You don’t have to do it, but I recommend it. Like toasting nuts, toasting your oats helps to bring out a little more flavor and it adds a depth to your final baked good. To toast your oats, spread them out on a baking sheet and put them in a 375 degree oven for 5-10 minutes. They won’t really change color, but you should be able to smell the toasty aroma. Let them cool before using. After you finish toasting your oats, spread your nuts on the same pan and tuck them in the oven for another 5-10 minutes, keeping a careful eye not to burn them.