12 Days of Christmas Treats: Ginger Cookies

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     One of my favorite Christmas flavors is ginger.  Ginger snaps are so crunchy and yummy and just perfect for a dunk in hot chocolate or tea!  I've made this recipe for years.  It originally came from a book called Low-fat Ways to Cook Desserts, but I gave up on the "low fat" thing a while ago when I figured what a funny mass of molecules margarine was.  I subbed butter for the margarine and replaced the vegetable cooking spray with a simple sheet of parchment paper.


Ginger Cookies
Yield: 52 cookie scoop size cookies; 26 if you follow the directions
1/4 C plus 2 tbs stick margarine, softened
2/3 C plus 3 T sugar, divided
1/4 C molasses
1 egg
2 C all-purpose flour
2 T baking soda
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground mace
Vegetable cooking spray

     Beat margarine at medium speed of an electric mixer until creamy; gradually add 2/3 C sugar, beating until light and fluffy.  Add molasses and egg; beat well.  Combine flour and next 4 ingredients; gradually add to creamed mixture, stirring until well blended.  Divide dough in half; wrap each portion in plastic wrap, and freeze 30 minutes.  Shape each portion of dough into 26 (1-inch) balls, and roll in remaining 3 Tbs sugar.  Place 2 inches apart on cookie sheets coated with cooking spray.  Bake at 350°  for 12 minutes or until lightly browned.  Remove from cookie sheets; cool on wire racks.  Store in an airtight container. 

Notes:
If you forget like I did and add the three extra Tbs of sugar to the cookies instead of leaving it out to roll them in, fear not!  They still look and taste great!

In the interest of being minutely less processed, I substituted Evaporated Cane Juice for the white sugar in all my treat recipes this year.  For these ginger cookies, the larger crystals really look beautiful and glittery!