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Perfect Gingersnap Cookies

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5 from 1 review

If you love the heat of ginger in sweets, then these gingersnaps will delight your palette. These gingersnap cookies get their spicy punch from three different gingers and black pepper forms, while the demerara sugar provides a sweet, crunchy texture to the cookie. Gingersnaps are best eaten with a cup of warm coffee or tea.

  • Yield: 48 to 50 cookies

Ingredients

2 ½ cups/350 g all-purpose flour

1 Tbsp ground ginger

1 ½ tsp baking soda

1 tsp ground black pepper

½ tsp ground green cardamom

½ tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp ground nutmeg

1 cup/220 g unsalted butter, cubed at room temperature

¾ cup/150 g packed dark brown sugar

1 large egg, at room temperature

½ cup/120 ml date syrup or unsulfured molasses

1 Tbsp grated peeled fresh ginger

½ cup/120 g chopped crystallized ginger

1 cup/200 g demerara or sparkling sugar

Instructions

  1. Place the two-wire racks at mid-height in the oven and preheat the oven to 325F/165C. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
  2. Dry whisk the flour, ginger, baking soda, black pepper, cardamom, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a large mixing bowl.
  3. Add the butter and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fixed with the paddle attachment. Beat over medium speed until the butter is creamed and turns a pale light brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl down with a silicone spatula.
  4. Whisk the egg, date syrup, and ginger with a fork in a small mixing bowl and pour the mixture into the creamed butter. Mix over medium speed until combined and the mixture turns fluffy, 1 ½ to 2 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl down and add the flour mixture. Mix over low speed until combined and there are no visible flecks of dry flour, 1 ½ to 2 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl down and add the crystallized ginger, process over low speed for 30 seconds to 1 minute until the ginger is evenly distributed. Remove the bowl from the mixer.
  5. Place the demerara sugar in a medium mixing bowl. Take out 1 Tbsp of cookie dough using a cookie scoop, shape into a round ball, and toss the ball in the demerara sugar until coated well. If the dough starts to turn too sticky, grease your hands lightly with a little unsalted butter. The cookie scoop will get sticky after a few rounds of scooping. To avoid this, set a small jug filled with hot water and dip the cookie scoop into it to rinse off the stuck dough and shake off the excess water before using. Place the sugared ball of cookie dough on the lined baking sheet. Prepare the rest of the cookie dough in the same manner, spacing them out by about 1 inch/2.5cm on the baking sheet. There should be 16 balls of cookie dough per sheet. Bake two sheets at a time, rotating the pans halfway through during baking until the cookies turn golden brown and crisp, the tops crinkle, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Notes

  • Three forms of ginger and black pepper give these cookies their heat.
  • Either date syrup or unsulfured molasses can be used in this recipe, I prefer the taste of date syrup here because I find it complements the tastes of the spices better.
  • You do not need to make the cookies on the day off. You can refrigerate the dough for a few hours (maximum overnight) but remember to warm the dough to room temperature or it will be too stiff to shape.

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