GINGER SNAPS

A time-honored favorite for generations, the simple ginger snap cookie is a crowd pleaser. Serve them with ice cream, crumble them for parfaits, add them to sauerbraten gravy, or just eat them as is. Their spicy sweetness is a delight, especially around holiday time when everyone thinks about gingerbread and spice any way. Here is an easy recipe from Alice Waters' cookbook, "The Art of Simple Food." I've adapted the recipe to make a small quarter batch -- nineteen 2" cookies -- but you can double the amounts to get roughly 3 dozen, or quadruple to get roughly 6 dozen . If you follow the directions, you'll get a cookie that snaps and is quite delicious.

Ginger Snaps

Adapted Quarter Batch from "The Art of Simple Food", Alice Waters

Rating: 9 out of 10

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
scant 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/8 tsp. sea salt
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. powdered ginger
1/8 tsp. black pepper
2 Tbsp. butter
scant 1/4 cup sugar
1 Tbsp. egg
1/8 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 Tbsp. molasses

Combine first seven ingredients in a small bowl. In a medium bowl, by hand, beat the butter, sugar, egg, vanilla and molasses till smooth. Add the dry ingredients to the wet, stirring with a spatula till smooth and well mixed. Form dough into a 2" diameter log and roll on a lightly floured surface. Wrap in plastic wrap; roll on countertop till smooth. Refrigerate or freeze till firm.
When ready to bake cookies, preheat oven to 350F; line baking sheets with parchment. Slice dough into 1/4" rounds with sharp knife. Dip 1 side in sugar (course or regular) and place sugar side up on baking sheet, evenly spaced apart. Leave about 2" between cookies. Bake 7-8 minutes, till completely done for snappy cookies. Or underbake them for softer cookies. Cool 2 minutes before transferring to wire rack to finish cooling. Best eaten the day they are baked.