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Stacey’s Ginger Cookies
December 25, 2009 | 10 Comments
Nupur @ One Hot Stove is having a 7-day recipe marathon that includes 29 foodies. More about it HERE. Over the next week (until the New Year), we’ll be posting a recipe a day.
We recently went to a potluck party where we tasted some sensational ginger cookies with just the right balance of sweet and spicy. Our friend Stacey shared the recipe and we made them today.
Usually, when we try to replicate any cake or cookie recipe, we use 50% of the fat and 30% of the sugar. Not this time. This recipe is just perfect – it needs that fat for the texture and it needs that sugar to balance out all those wonderful, pungent spices. Rolling it in the sugar before baking gives it a crisp caramelised outside and a soft melty inside. We rolled ours in a mixture of demerrara sugar and dessicated unsweetened coconut.
We tried one vegan version with whole wheat and oats and another gluten-free. The gluten-free version actually tasted better. We also liked the crisp and thin more than the soft and thick.
STACEY’S GINGER COOKIES
(Makes 36 big, thick cookies.)
Oven: 350*F Bake: 11 minutes
4.5 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons baking soda
1.5 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1.5 cups transfat free margarine (or butter)
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup molasses
3/4 cup sugar
In a medium bowl stir together flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt; set aside. In a large mixing bowl beat margarine with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds. Add the 2 cups sugar. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in eggs and molasses until combined. Beat in as much of the flour mixture as you can with the mixer. Stir in any remaining flour mixture.
Shape dough into 2-inch balls using a 1/4-cup measure or scoop. Roll balls in the 3/4 cup sugar to coat. Place 2 1/2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake in a 350*F oven for 11-13 minutes or until bottoms are lightly brown and tops are puffed (do not overbake). Cool on a cookie sheet 2 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool.
For smaller cookies: roll into 1-inch balls, coat in sugar, and place 1 1/2 inches apart on cookie sheet. Bake for 8 to 9 minutes.
SCALED-DOWN WHOLEGRAIN VEGAN VERSION
Soft and thick
Makes 9 cookies.
Oven: 350*F Bake: 11 to 13 minutes
3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/3 cup powdered whole grain oats (or more whole wheat flour)
1 teaspoon ground dried ginger
1/2 tsp fresh grated ginger
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
pinch salt
1/3 cup extra-virgin coconut oil
(**not the refined version in the Indian store, or use any vegetable oil)
half cup organic raw cane sugar
1 tsp cornstarch
2 tbsp unsulphured molasses
**if you don’t have this, replace half the sugar with brown sugar or jaggery and use 1 tbsp extra sugar
For coating the cookies,
3 tbsps each sugar and unsweetened dessicated coconut.
or 6 tbsps sugar
Proceed as above. Make walnut sized balls of the cookies. The consistency of the dough will be like moist sand. If you press the ball lightly, it should not crack. If it does, add a tablespoon or two of water/soymilk to the dough. Roll the cookies in the sugar/dessicated coconut mixture, line them on the cookies sheet well apart and press LIGHTLY with the bottom of a flat glass. These cookies spread, so keep them thick, space them apart and use two cookie sheets to bake them if you can.
Crisp and thin
Press them down a bit more until they are about half inch thick and cook them for an extra minute. We liked these more than the thick ones.
Gluten-free
These actually tasted sweeter and milder than the wheat version.
Replace the wheat flour with amaranth flour (rajgira atta) and the oats with buckwheat flour. Or use any one of the two flours to make up 1 cup and 2 tbsp. If you have xanthan gum ( a natural binding agent), use 1 tsp, but it’s not necessary.
Also, Vegan Ginger-Chocolate Cookies.
- Bee and Jai
Filed Under: Amaranth/Rajgira, Buckwheat, cinnamon, clove, Coconut, cookie, Ginger, gluten-free, molasses, Oats, vegan recipes, vegetarian recipes, Wheat, whole grains
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10 Comments
With all this baking for Nupur’s marathon, I am going to have to break down and get my big mixing bowl out from the back of the cupboard
I really appreciate the small-yield recipe — now where do you find extra-virgin coconut oil? Whole Foods perhaps?
BTW Bee — nutella post had me in stitches…..
Happy holidays, you two!
even regular stores (walmart too!) seem to carry it these days…maybe stocked in the natural foods aisle.
-Jai
Your Wallyworld has a natural foods aisle??!? I guess I am living on the wrong coast. I’ll check Whole Foods!
Looks divine..like ginger cookies with coconut flakes on top.
Oh my, I am a huge fan of ginger cookies. This I have to try! Thanks for playing along with the marathon
i guess i gotta try these soon,.
There is something so appealing about a ginger cookie, especially after all the rich sugary holiday treats have had their turn in the spotlight.
I appreciate the work you’ve done to offer several versions. Something here for anybody/everybody with a hankering for a spicy light cookie. I can already envision how delightful it will be to have these late afternoon with a cup of tea…. Or even cookies in the car with a travel mug of hot chocolate as we venture out to look at Christmas lights after dinner.
lovely sounding recipe, and happy holidays to you both!
Hi Jai and Bee, I made these GF cookies yesterday, with some minor adaptations (flax seed, water, 10 ml honey instead of sugar) and it turned out pretty good. I enjoyed it guilt free. I used amaranth flour and buckwheat as you suggested.
Thanks very much.
I love ginger cookies (though I am not a great fan of mixing ‘sweet’ & ‘spicy’ in the same recipe)..have to try these sometime soon
Until now, I didn’t know you were playing this marathon too. I updated my feed with yours so that I wouldn’t miss a post.
Wishing you both a very happy and joyous new year.
Siri