#54. Non-Anatomically Correct Gingerbread People

Gingerbread people are the rare exception when it comes to my preferred texture for cookies, for I demand they be crispy, never soft, and only minimally moist. This recipe is slightly modified from that designed by The Daring Gourmet.

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted butter

• 1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

• 3/4 cup white granulated sugar

• 1 cup molasses

• 1 large egg

• 5 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 tablespoon ground ginger

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• ½ teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. Beat the butter in a large bowl on high speed for a few minutes until fluffy and pale in color. Add the white and brown sugar and beat for several more minutes until the mixture is no longer gritty.

3. Add the molasses and the egg and beat until combined.

4. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture a little at a time using a wooden spoon.

5. Place the gingerbread dough on the counter and form it into a large smooth mound. Divide it into 4 equal portions and flatten each portion into a disk. Wrap each disk with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.

6. Roll out the dough (one disc at a time!) between two sheets of waxed paper to a thickness of about ¼ inch.

7. Use ginger people cookie cutters of your choice to cut out cookies. Transfer to cookie sheets using a spatula. Repeat for all remaining dough discs.

8. Bake the gingerbread cookies for 8-10 minutes or until they are lightly browned around the edges. Let the cookies cool for at least 5 minutes on the baking sheets before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely and then ice them should you desire.

#12. Oh Snap! Caramel Ginger Snaps

I think it's a damn shame that ginger snaps/bread/basically any baked good featuring ginger are too often relegated to "seasonal" status.  Ginger is delicious all year round and its ability to add some tongue-tingling spice to sweets without scorching sensitive palates and giving rise to torrential runny noses is truly unique. I challenge you to try the same thing with chili powder.

I added caramels for some buttery contrast to this basic recipe for chewy gingersnaps, which, by the way, one could argue is an oxymoron if you subscribe to the idea that the 'snap' part of the name is designed to reflect the easily breakable, crisp texture of the cookie. I don't.

When making these cookies, it's important to remember that the caramels should only be slightly melted when you remove your tray from the oven. Five minutes rest time on the tray renders them the perfect consistency from the latent heat.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup butter, softened

• 1 cup sugar

• 1 large egg

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

• 3 teaspoons ground ginger

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 24 caramels

 Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line 2 baking trays with parchment paper.

2. Cream butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Then beat in egg.

3. In a separate bowl, thoroughly combine flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt.

4. Gradually add dry ingredient mixture to wet ingredient mixture.

5. Shape dough into balls roughly 1 and 1/2 inches in size. Press one full caramel into the center of each ball. 

6. Bake 11-13 minutes. Remove trays from oven. Let cookies rest on trays for 5 minutes or until caramels are just about to ooze all over the cookies.

7. Eat immediately and with caution if you have loose dental work. 

#9. Cornish Fairings

I am a Ginger who happens to love ginger. Considering my sensitivity to spice, I surprise myself with how much I enjoy a really fiery ginger ale like Boylan's or a heavily spiced gingerbread. Although I have been fortunate enough to have spent a considerable amount of time in England (the perks of being a Dickens scholar and having a terrific friend who lets me stay with her in South Kensington), I had never encountered Cornish fairings. Maybe I was distracted by all the Millionaire's Shortbread, of which I consumed roughly a million pieces per visit. 

The word "fairing" originally referred to any sort of goody vended at British fairs but eventually came to specifically represent a type of biscuit or cookie usually made with ginger or other baking spices. The "Cornish fairing" became a household name in the late nineteenth century when one intrepid Cornish manufacturer began mass producing them for mail orders. 

Golden syrup can be found online, or at most shops that specialize in foreign and/or British comestibles, like Rice Village's The British Isles Shop. You can use maple syrup, but the extra investment/errand is worth it for its distinctive, buttery, honey taste.

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour

• 2 tsp baking powder

• 2 tsp baking soda

• 2 tsp nutmeg

• 4 tsp ground ginger

• pinch of salt

• 1/2 cup butter

• 1/2 cup caster (very fine) sugar

• 5 tbs golden syrup

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

3. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, nutmeg, ginger, and salt.

4. With a sturdy spatula, add butter in small chunks until mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Small, greasy ones, that is.

5. Add in sugar. Then gradually stir in golden syrup.

6. Flour your hands slightly, then shape dough into a large ball. Refrigerate for about 30 min.

7. Place golf ball-size pieces of dough on cookie sheets, leaving ample room in between.

8. Bake for 10-12 minutes until balls have spread flat, turned golden brown, and assumed a crinkly surface texture.

9. Cool on wire racks. Enjoy with a cuppa.*

*That means 'tea' in British.