Cookies

The Best Gingersnaps

The Best Gingersnaps {mind-over-batter.com}

Yes, these ARE the best gingersnaps!! Crunchy edges, chewy centers, ginger spice and everything nice!  Holiday cookie? YEAH!!

The Best Gingersnaps {mind-over-batter.com}

Let’s rap about the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade.

K?

I used to watch the parade live every single year. I don’t know how long before, but my  first recollection of attending the parade was at about 4 years of age. My grandparents lived on the Upper West Side, blocks from where the parade route began and my grandfather would wake up crazy early to secure us a spot.

The Best Gingersnaps {mind-over-batter.com}

Every year I’d be enthralled by the balloons and the floats. By the sounds and the people. By the energy. I looked forward to it every year, as did my brother and cousins. We’d sleep over at our grandparents, the 5 of us on the sofa bed my grandparents had in their studio apartment. We’d laugh; talk smack, tell stories, fight, all the while filling our mouths with insane amounts of marshmallow fluff. The next morning we’d wake up at the butt crack of dawn, shower, get dressed and stand at the parade route – Usually front row and wait. And freeze. We’d wait for the drums, the marching, the floats, the balloons. We did it every year until I was about 15, maybe 16. Some years it was all of us, others maybe 3. Always sleeping on that sofa bed, no matter how big we got and how uncomfortable we were.

The Best Gingersnaps {mind-over-batter.com}

I have fond memories of those years. What I always remember – And if I’m not mistaken is a tradition that still continues, is the final float – The one occupied by Santa Claus signaling the beginning of the Christmas season. Once Santa’s float passed by you knew – It was time. Christmas time. Holiday time.

Presents!

This is what these gingersnaps signify; the beginning of your holiday season situation.  One you break out the gingersnaps you know – There’s a Christmas situation happening in your house. Soon.

Gingersnaps are one of my favorite holiday cookies. I bake them maybe 3 times during the holiday season, and they rarely make it past a second day.

The Best Gingersnaps {mind-over-batter.com}

These gingersnaps are not big chewy cakey situations. I add a lot of invert syrup here – Dark corn syrup, molasses, and brown sugar syrup. There’s also very spicy dough, ginger heavy. When these cookies come out of the oven, they usually come out nice and flat. The syrups in these cookies make it so every few bites you detect these delicious caramel notes in addition to the spice. They are crunchy AND chewy and that is why they’re the best holiday cookie.

These gingersnaps, yo. They are THE jump off point to the holiday season. Your float holding Santa Claus yelling his Ho! Ho! Ho!

The Best Gingersnaps {mind-over-batter.com}

What else is there to say but…

Jingle it, baby.

[purerecipe]

Ingredients

  • 2 ¼ cups of all-purpose flour spooned then leveled
  • 2 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
  • 1 ¼ teaspoon of ground cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon of cloves
  • ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
  • 2 teaspoons of baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon of salt
  • 1 ½ sticks of unsalted butter room temperature
  • 2/3 cup of granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoons of molasses
  • 2 teaspoons of dark corn syrup
  • 1 tablespoon of brown sugar syrup
  • Granulated sugar for sprinkling optional

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven 350° Fahrenheit and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
  • Combine flour, baking soda, salt and spices in a medium bowl. Mix well to combine and set aside.
  • Place butter and sugar in a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat over medium/high speed until light and fluffy. Add the egg, molasses, dark corn and brown sugar syrup and vanilla extract and beat until incorporated.
  • Add the flour/spice mixture and mix until just combined. Using a 1 1/2 tsp. cookie scoop or a teaspoon, drop cookies onto prepared baking sheet, leaving over 2 inches of space between each cookie. Sprinkle the cookies with the sugar (if using) and bake for about 12-14 minutes until cookies are crackled.
  • Allow cookies to cool slightly, and then remove with a spatula, transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

You Might Also Like