Adventures in Baking: Sparkling Ginger Chip Cookies
It's almost Christmas, which means... baking time. And a whole lot of it.
Current cookie count includes:
* 13.5 dozen to Alex's school, for kids and various administrators
* 9 dozen for various cookie baskets
There's been the usual chocolate chip, sugar cutouts, and gingerbread cutouts, but every year I try something new, and this time it's Sparkling Ginger Chip cookies. They're like a hybrid between gingerbread, chocolate chip cookies, and snickerdoodles. The last batch I made was a little overdone, but when they're baked for just about 7 minutes, the insides stay nice and soft and it's just... om nom. They also use a ton of ginger, both ground and fresh, so there's always these bits where you get this bite of hot gingery goodness. So tasty.
Sparkling Ginger Chip Cookies
(Credit: 101 Cookbooks)
Yield - 3-4 dozen
1/2 cup salted butter
1/4 cup unsulphured molasses
2/3 cup dark brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger, peeled
1 large egg, well beaten
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
4 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips (I used 62% cacao Guittard)
1/2 cup sparkling sugar or Sugar in the Raw
Preheat the oven to 350F - racks in the top and bottom third of the oven. Line a couple baking sheets with parchment paper or a Silpat mat, and place the large-grain sugar in a small bowl. Set aside.
In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, ground ginger, and salt. Heat the butter in a saucepan until it is just barely melted. Remove from heat and stir in the molasses, cane sugar, and fresh ginger. The mixture should be warm, but not hot at this point, if it is hot to the touch let it cool a bit. Whisk in the egg. Now pour this over the flour mixture, and stir until just combined. Fold in the chocolate.
Scoop out the dough in exact, level tablespoons. Tear each tablespoon of dough in two before rolling each 1/2 tablespoon of dough into a ball. Roll each dough ball in sanding sugar. Place dough a few inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Bake for 7-10 minutes or until cookies puff up, darken a bit, and get fragrant
Note, the original recipe called for white sugar and whole wheat pastry flour, but really who keeps whole wheat pastry flour around. AP works just fine, and brown sugar keeps them nice and moist and chewy.
Right-click and "View Image" to see in actual size.
Current cookie count includes:
* 13.5 dozen to Alex's school, for kids and various administrators
* 9 dozen for various cookie baskets
There's been the usual chocolate chip, sugar cutouts, and gingerbread cutouts, but every year I try something new, and this time it's Sparkling Ginger Chip cookies. They're like a hybrid between gingerbread, chocolate chip cookies, and snickerdoodles. The last batch I made was a little overdone, but when they're baked for just about 7 minutes, the insides stay nice and soft and it's just... om nom. They also use a ton of ginger, both ground and fresh, so there's always these bits where you get this bite of hot gingery goodness. So tasty.
Sparkling Ginger Chip Cookies
(Credit: 101 Cookbooks)
Yield - 3-4 dozen
1/2 cup salted butter
1/4 cup unsulphured molasses
2/3 cup dark brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger, peeled
1 large egg, well beaten
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
4 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips (I used 62% cacao Guittard)
1/2 cup sparkling sugar or Sugar in the Raw
Preheat the oven to 350F - racks in the top and bottom third of the oven. Line a couple baking sheets with parchment paper or a Silpat mat, and place the large-grain sugar in a small bowl. Set aside.
In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, ground ginger, and salt. Heat the butter in a saucepan until it is just barely melted. Remove from heat and stir in the molasses, cane sugar, and fresh ginger. The mixture should be warm, but not hot at this point, if it is hot to the touch let it cool a bit. Whisk in the egg. Now pour this over the flour mixture, and stir until just combined. Fold in the chocolate.
Scoop out the dough in exact, level tablespoons. Tear each tablespoon of dough in two before rolling each 1/2 tablespoon of dough into a ball. Roll each dough ball in sanding sugar. Place dough a few inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Bake for 7-10 minutes or until cookies puff up, darken a bit, and get fragrant
Note, the original recipe called for white sugar and whole wheat pastry flour, but really who keeps whole wheat pastry flour around. AP works just fine, and brown sugar keeps them nice and moist and chewy.
Right-click and "View Image" to see in actual size.