by Meemaw 20 Comments
Recipes are much more than a blueprint for preparing food. Recipes can be our connection to the past…and to the people we love. And that was so true yesterday when I stumbled upon my mom’s Ginger Crisps cookie recipe.
I was feeling very nostalgic and a little sad in our much-too-quiet house after our amazing, fun-filled Thanksgiving weekend spent with all of our grandkids and their parents. Those family memories are priceless to me…especially at my age.
I began to think of my wonderful childhood. And, as usual, my thoughts turned to my mom.
So I reached for the recipe box I had inherited from her almost forty years ago…
and I stumbled upon this ancient Ginger Crisps recipe card I had never seen before. It was handwritten, in pencil, by Mom! It was truly a warm holiday hug…direct from Heaven!
The thought of filling my kitchen with the sweet holiday scents of ginger and cloves and molasses sent me straight to my mixing bowls.
Meemaw’s Tip: When measuring anything sticky like molasses or honey, first spray your measuring cup with cooking spray. The sticky liquid will slide right out!
It wasn’t long before I had recreated Mom’s Ginger Crisps Cookies…with a few alterations. Since I don’t bake with lard, I substituted unsalted butter. And I left out the English walnuts this time. (I’m sure Mom didn’t mind. In fact she probably expected it, since I always was a little bit of a rebel!)
I chilled the dough, then I rolled it into small balls. Then I rolled the balls into a bowl of sugar.
I placed them either on a cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray, or onto a Silpat lined cookie sheet for baking.
The cookies puffed up while baking…
And then suddenly collapsed!
At first I thought I had done something wrong…and then I could almost hear Mom’s voice telling me…”Patty Ann…Please re-read the title of my recipe!”
Right. They are Ginger CRISPS Cookies. So they should be flat to be crisp!
There was no baking time specified on that yellowed card, so I guessed at ten minutes. I was close. I would say 10-12 minutes, depending on how crisp you want the cookies to be. And I let them firm up on the cookie sheet for a minute or two before moving them to a rack to cool completely.
You can see that these cookies flatten a lot, so make sure to give them plenty of room to spread out if you want to keep them perfectly round and not smooshed together. (I learned from my mistakes.) My cookies turned out to be crispy on the outside and yet slightly chewy…a perfect combination of textures.
Yes, Dear Readers…Even though Mom has been gone almost forty years, she was with me yesterday in my cozy kitchen.
And I hope some day, forty years from now, our precious grandkids will feel a warm and loving hug from ME if they recreate these Ginger Crisps for themselves.
A warm and loving hug…From a recipe box filled with memories.
Mom's Ginger Crisps Cookies
2016-11-29 10:56:50
This "ginger and spice...and everything nice" cookie will become one of your holiday favorites!
Ingredients
- 2 C. flour
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. ground cloves
- 1 1/4 tsp. ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 2/3 c. lard (I used unsalted butter)
- 1 c. sugar
- 1 egg
- 1/4 c. molasses
- 1/2 c. finely chopped English walnuts (I omitted them this time)
- extra sugar for rolling
Instructions
- Combine sugar and butter in a mixing bowl mix well.
- Add egg and mix.
- Add the molasses and combine.
- In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and salt.
- Whisk dry ingredients together to combine.
- Stir walnuts into flour mixture if desired.
- Combine the wet and dry ingredients and mix well.
- REFRIGERATE DOUGH for at least 15-20 minutes.
- Use a teaspoon to scoop up dough and roll into small balls.
- Drop dough balls into a bowl of sugar to coat.
- Place on greased cookie sheet (or use a non-stick Silpat sheet on your cookie sheet)
- BAKE at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes
- Remove from oven and allow to remain on cookie sheet for several minutes to firm up.
- Finish cooling on wire racks.
Notes
- You decide how crispy or chewy you want to make these delicious cookies! Bake less for chewy and more for crispy. Either way, your kitchen will smell like the holidays...and your family will love you!
By My Mom
Meemaw Eats https://www.meemaweats.com/
