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Ginger snaps are yummy cookies that we whip out come November and don ‘t stop eating until after the New Year–hopefully we ‘re not alone in that. Deliciously spice-infused, these cookies are packed with flavor, crisp on the outside while moist on the inside, and they make us feel festive like nothing else can. Pair them with some eggnog and a yule log and that holiday cheer will be on a whole new level!

You probably already have most of these ingredients in your pantry, so it ‘s only a matter of gathering them together and looking forward to the fact that you ‘ll have these bites of goodness in your belly in under an hour! We don ‘t want to facilitate competition, but you could see how quickly you and your family can make them and the winner gets the first cookie (or 10).regardless of how you make them or with whom, these cookies hit the spot!

Ginger Snaps

Yields 3-4 dozen

Ingredients

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar
  • 3/4 cup vegetable shortening
  • 1/4 cup molasses
  • 1 egg
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 2 teaspoons ground ginger
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup sugar, for rolling cookies

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 375 F and set aside a shallow bowl of sugar for rolling the cookies.
  2. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and salt.
  3. In a large bowl or mixer, cream together the shortening and brown sugar until lightened in color and fluffy.
  4. Beat in the egg and, once fully incorporated, mix in the molasses.
  5. 1/2 cup at a time, mix in dry ingredients until fully combined.
  6. Refrigerate dough for 30 minutes, then break off equal pieces of dough and roll out 1-inch balls of dough.
  7. Roll each cookie ball in bowl of granulated sugar, then place on baking sheet, leaving 2-3 inches between each cookie.
  8. Place in oven and cook for 10 minutes, or until puffed up slightly. (Cookies will collapse a little and be covered in little cracks–that ‘s what you want.)
  9. Remove from oven and let cool before serving.

Recipe adapted from What ‘s Cooking America