Well, guess what?
“Winter is here!” … Says the weird, adorable beaky bird guy from Anthropologie.
Guess what else?
Winter calls for a sea of warm, spicy, snappy cookies. Like these.
They’re as fragrant as a candle and will make your whole apartment smell the way winter should smell: dense, nutty, sweet, spicy.
These are almost like an uber-ginger-butter-cookie. The dough is a lot like a shortbread, although still crisp. Although I had some serious frustrations with the recipe (see below), the flavor is deep and dense and really wonderful. Adjusted below, these are a keeper.
Thanks as always to the fabulous ladies of Anthropologie: Shannon, Annie, Kim, Tera, and Kim’s talented intern, Katelyn, who created this beautiful display! (Full disclosure: This month’s Tasting Tuesday was totally a Tasting Wednesday. The snow was way too crazy here in Milwaukee to venture far from home on Tuesday!)
Come join me next month on February 21!
About Tasting Tuesdays
Every month, I bake a recipe from a cookbook sold at the Milwaukee Anthropologie. Stop by–the goodies will be on display for you to try, and I’ll be there, too, camera in hand. I post the featured recipe and photos of the event here on the blog. (Anthropologie pays for groceries for the treats, but I have full control over the cookbook/recipe from their store as well as what I say in my blog posts.)
Gingersnaps
Adapted from Miette
Makes 36+ 2″ diameter cookies
Important Note The original recipe does NOT call for milk. I found the dough extremely dry and crumbly without adding some sort of liquid, so I added milk. Feel free to try omitting milk–I’d love to know if it works for you without it, as I’m surprised a published cookbook would omit something so important!
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tablespoons plus 1 tsp ground ginger
Generous 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp allspice
1/8 tsp nutmeg
Scant 1/8 tsp cardamom
16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cups packed dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons honey
4 tablespoons molasses
1/4 cup finely minced crystallized ginger
2 tsp ginger puree (found at Whole Foods)
2-4 tablespoons whole milk
Granulated sugar for sprinkling
Sift together flours, salt, and spices into a bowl. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Add the honey and molasses and mix until fully incorporated. Add the dry ingredients in three additions, mixing just to combine, scraping down the bowl in between each addition. Mix in the crystallized ginger and ginger puree until just combined. The dough will be crumbly and seem dry. Add milk 1 tablespoon at a time until dough comes together as a ball and is no longer crumbly. (You may not need a full 4 tablespoons of milk; I did.)
Form the dough into a disk, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or overnight. (I suggest overnight as the flavors will really condense together!)
When ready to bake, remove from refrigerator. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
Roll out dough on a clean, floured surface to 1/4″ thickness. Cut with a scalloped circular (if available, otherwise plain is fine) cookie cutter. Place on the prepared sheet and sprinkle tops with granulated sugar.
Bake until deeply browned, 12-14 minutes. Remove to a wire rack to cool. Keeps up to 2 weeks in an airtight container.
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