Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Triple Ginger Cookies


Today's ginger cookie of choice comes from Emily Luchetti's book, "The Fearless Baker." The one thing that sets her cookie recipe apart from all others is that they are flavored with ginger, ginger, and only ginger. Well, I was looking for the ideal "ginger" cookie, wasn't I? I just had to see how a pure, unadulterated ginger cookie would stack up to all the others with their combos of spices.

And the verdict? They were wonderfully chewy and soft, which I liked. As for how flat they are, well, my oven flattens everything so I'm sure you could get much thicker cookies than I. But, as for the taste (cause that's what really matters), I think all those years of eating ginger cookies made with ginger and other spices has made my tastebuds biased. In comparison to the other cookies I've tried so far, this one was really mild.

I was rather surprised, especially since the recipe uses a whole tablespoonful of fresh ginger. Shouldn't that have given it some major kick? Well, I did a little research to find the answer.
According to Wikipedia, the ratio of fresh ginger to dried ginger (aka ginger powder), when substituted for one another, is 6:1. So, in essence, the amount of fresh ginger I used would only equal an extra 1/2 teaspoonful of ginger powder. There's my answer. That small amount added to the ginger powder (4 1/2 teaspoons total) in a recipe this large would certainly not give me the spicy punch I was looking for.

However, that does not mean that only dried spices will do for the ideal ginger cookie. I still have some other recipes to try that use fresh ginger and I'm eager to see how the hypothesis plays out. Who knew I could learn so much from a ginger cookie?

Triple Ginger Cookies (from "The Fearless Baker" by Emily Luchetti)

1 Tbsp. fresh grated ginger
14 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 c. sugar
1 large egg
1/4 c. molasses
2 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 c. finely chopped candied ginger
4 tsp. ginger powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. sea salt

Preheat oven to 350F and line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Combine the flour, ginger, baking soda, and salt. Stir in the candied ginger.

Beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until creamy. Add the egg. Beat in the molasses and grated fresh ginger. Add the flour mixture and mix until everything is combined.

Place a rounded tablespoonful of dough, spaced a few inches apart on the cookie sheet. You may want to rotate the cookie sheets halfway through to make sure the cookies bake evenly. Bake for about 14 min. until browned. Wait until they cool for a few minutes on the cookie sheet then transfer to a wire rack to continue cooling.

16 comments:

  1. Gingery flavor in cookies thats gonna be yummy....!!!

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  2. I like how you described eating these cookies. Thanks for the tips. I love ginger and ginger cookies. I make some good ginger shortbread cookies with crystallized ginger that gives it that ginger heat! I want to try these!

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  3. Mmm, That looks like a really good. The ginger makes the cookie sparkly!

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  4. Those sound neat, I have never had a plain ginger cookie.

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  5. Gorgeous cookies! I ADORE ginger cookies, so ginger times 3 sounds totally perfect to me! :)

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  6. These may actually convince me to buy some candied ginger! I've never tried it!

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  7. Triple ginger!!! These cookies must smell really good with all the gingery flavours.

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  8. Throw a little ground pepper in some dough and see what you think about the kick. It's pretty good.
    Can't wait to see more of your ginger cookies!

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  9. I love ginger and these cookies sound like music to my ears. Will try this soon. They will be perfect for gift-giving for the Holidays! :)

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  10. Lisa, this is over the top and sounds delicious! Ginger is excellent with the 3 kinds of ginger and I want to make them soon! Thanks!

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  11. Thats interesting! I haven't done much with ginger....these look great!

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  12. Lisa, you are to teeny tiny! What do you do with all of these cookies?

    I just love ginger cookies. I have a theory that ginger is addictive - I certainly can't eat just one.

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  13. I absolutely love ginger in all forms and these look delicious! So interesting about dried vs fresh ginger!

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  14. Oh, the more ginger, the better! These sound amazing, Lisa!

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  15. A new ginger cookie recipe to try! Can't wait :) As for the flatness, I think ginger cookies should be flat, not puffy.

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