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.

Aunt Helen's Gingersnaps

No, I don't have an Aunt Helen. Rather, this recipe came from a book I read called, "Fleece Navidad" in which one of the characters has an Aunt Helen who supposedly makes really good gingersnaps.

The recipe calls for more ginger powder than most recipes and has some cinnamon in it as well. It also uses dark brown sugar to add to the rich molasses flavor.


My finished cookies weren't very thick, but at least they weren't super flat. Since they were thicker than Alton's cookies, this meant that they also had a softer chew which I liked. Plus, they had a nice spicy flavor too which will probably deepen over the next couple of days (if they last that long before getting eaten).

After tasting these, I agree with the character in the book. Aunt Helen does make good gingersnaps.


Aunt Helen's Gingersnaps (from Fleece Navidad)

2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp. + 2 tsp. ground ginger
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 c. packed dark brown sugar
1 large egg
1/4 c. molasses
1/4 - 1/2 c. white sugar, for rolling (I used turbinado sugar)

Heat oven to 350F. Lightly grease cookie sheets. Mix flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in a small mixing bowl. Cream butter and brown sugar together in a medium bowl, mixing well. Add the molasses and mix until blended. Add in the flour mixture.

Cover bowl with plastic wrap and chill for 15 min. Then take out and roll into 1 1/4-inch balls. Roll balls in sugar and place 2 inches apart on prepared cookie sheets. Bake just until puffed and cookies look dry - anywhere from 9-14 min. Do not over-bake or cookies will become hard. Carefully remove with metal spatula to wire rack to cool.

Makes approximately 32-40 cookies

Mud Puddles

It's time once again for the Secret Recipe Club's Reveal Day. This time, I was assigned to the blog, Mrs. Happy Homemaker. She has so much good stuff going on and I had a little trouble narrowing down the recipes to just one. I finally ended up choosing her recipe for Mud Puddles. It worked out perfectly since I had to bring a dessert to a Christmas party and I know no one can resist the peanut butter-chocolate combo of these yummy treats.


Making the cookie cups was super easy. However, patience is a virtue as I learned when I tried to remove one of the cookie cups from the muffin tin without letting it cool first. Yeah, totally broke apart. But, oh what a difference 20 minutes makes. Once they had cooled, they popped out perfectly.


Then, you fill them with a dark, fudgy concoction that is so rich and dreamy. The recipe called for using half milk chocolate chips and half semisweet. I found the fudge filling to be a little too sweet for me (I'm a big dark chocolate fan), so I would probably use all semisweet chocolate chips next time.


I also decided to dress them up by sprinkling some crushed Butterfingers on half of them and drizzling the rest with melted white chocolate.


I loved these Mud Puddles and so did the people at the Christmas party because all four dozen of these little babies were gone in a flash. Thanks Mrs. Happy Homemaker for such a crowd-pleasing recipe.


Mud Puddles (Mrs. Happy Homemaker)

1/2 c. butter, softened
1/2 c. creamy peanut butter
1/2 c. white sugar
1/2 c. packed brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt

1 c. milk chocolate chips
1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 325F. Sift together flour, baking soda, and salt.

Cream butter, peanut butter, and sugars together. Mix in egg and vanilla. Stir the flour mixture into the creamed mixture. Shape the dough into 48 balls (I had to chill the dough first), 1 inch each. Place each ball in one compartment of a mini muffin tin sprayed with cooking spray.

Bake for 14-16 min. or until lightly browned. Remove from oven and immediately make wells in the center of each using a small spoon, melon baller, or your thumb. Cool in pan for 5 min. (I let them cool for 20 min.). Then, carefully remove to wire racks.

For the filling, put the chocolate chips (I would use all semisweet for a darker flavor) in a double boiler over simmering water. Stir in the condensed milk and vanilla and mix well until it all melts into creamy fudgy goodness.

Spoon the fudge into the cookies (about a couple teaspoonfuls in each). You can leave them as is or decorate them as you wish (I used crushed Butterfingers and melted white chocolate).

This recipe is linked to:
My Meatless Mondays
Crazy Sweet Tuesday
Cookie Blog Hop
Hearth n' Soul
A Little Birdie Told Me
Mrs. Fox's Sweets Party
What's Cooking Wednesday
Full Plate Thursday
These Chicks Cooked
Bake with Bizzy
Sweet Tooth Friday
Sweet Indulgences Sunday