I spent the afternoon baking cookies so I could send some back with my nephew when he goes back to school on Monday. Working on one's Masters is hungry work. You need all the sustenance you can get.
He is a tea drinker and I wanted cookies that would travel well and would go nicely with a cuppa. He's also an adventurous eater so I wanted to punch them up a bit (I think he was the only one that truly appreciated my spicy Mexican chocolate cookies).
I found a recipe for ginger snaps on allrecipes.com. I made some very minor adjustments and one major addition.
My minor adjustments were to use dark molasses, rather than light. Per some of the other reviewers I doubled the spices. I also baked them for 11 minutes rather than 9. I prefer a crispier cookie and I think they hold up better it you want to dunk them in a cup of tea.
The major addition was that I made crystallized ginger and added it the recipe. Crystallized ginger is a bit time consuming but very easy to make. And if you see how expensive it is in the store then the time seems well spent.
I took a nice sized piece of fresh ginger root, peeled it and diced it into small pieces (a bit smaller than 1/4"). You place the diced ginger in a small, heavy saucepan and cover with water. I brought it to a gentle simmer and cooked it, stirring occasionally for 30 minutes.
I drained it, weighed it and then added it back to the saucepan with an equal amount of sugar and 3 tablespoons of water. I boiled it, stirring frequently, until it was almost dry. It starts looking syrupy and bit foamy and then all of the sudden it kind of crystallizes up. Then I just tossed it into a bowl of sugar and coated it well. I was sure it was just going to clump up into a big wad but once I started stirring it around each piece was coated nicely.
It gives the cookies a nice extra jolt of ginger.
When I was pregnant, eight million years ago, I used to keep a box of gingersnaps by the bed to help with morning sickness. Only every time I reached for the box, it was empty. Someone else must have been feeling queasy too.
It's also reputed to be good for arthritis and in Indonesia they believe it helps reduce "winds" in the blood. Have no idea what that condition is.
I'm just hoping it is a nice respite from studying.
Will you adopt me as a niece? Cousin? Whatever relationship I need to get you to make me some of these?
Thanks for the info on candied ginger. I had no idea it was that simple. I paid the big bucks for the stuff I have and after finally remembering to buy it, didn’t remember what I planned to use it for. Senility strikes again.
This sounds like a great idea to try to use some of it-unless you need my address to send me some of your cookies and save me the trouble. ๐
Andrea, you are amazing! Working on a masters, baking and keeping up this lovely site.
I am truly in awe. You must have lots of energy!
Mimi – Just to clarify – it is my nephew that is working on his Masters not me. Ooooh boy not me. I have a hard enough time doing the Monday crossword – much less work on a Masters.
I love crystallized ginger and now I can make it! Thanks for sharing the directions, now I can’t wait to try it:>)
I love ginger in anything! I even buy bags of the crystalized ginger at Trader Joes and eat it like candy! I never even thought of making my own!
Speaking of Indonesia and ginger….The Barefoot Contessa’s Indonesian Chicken is one of my favorite recipes! Tons of garlic and ginger, two of my favorite things.
I love that teapot!!!
How sweet of you! What a lovely gift and I’m sure it is greatly appreciated. Thanks for the baking tips ๐
Yum!!!!
Your ginger snaps look so good! I love gingersnaps. I am going to have to try this.
Yummm, I love ginger. Clarice-who just had gingersnaps crumbled over her pumpkin flan
Nephew was thrilled to get cookies, especially gingersnaps.
hello! i stumbled across your blog looking for photos of strawberries for drawing reference – i just HAD to click on that great looking photo of Fourth of July strawberries in a pie plate next to pretty baked goods. I’ve really enjoyed your recipes and photos ๐
i just have one question about this post, is there significance to the teapot in the cake dome? both are really pretty but it was driving me crazy, wondering if there was a backstory i was missing, being new to your blog and all. either way, seeing that last close-up of the teapot/dome reminds me i need to go antique shopping, there is a sorry lack of pretty teapots in my life right now ๐
thanks for a great read!