You’ll need three types of ginger for these cookies: candied/crystallized (the best I’ve found comes from the bulk section of our Co-Op), grated fresh, and powdered.
“For grownups only” was how my friends from pilates referred to them, which piqued my interest. They shared the recipe, the changes they made, and brought me a little sample. The cookies were so good, I had to figure out where the recipe originated, and hit upon it on first Google-ing: Heidi Swanson of 101Cookbooks.
I should have guessed, it has her hallmark all over it—flavorful whole grains, satisfying crust and texture, and sophisticated flavor, in this case meaning not too sweet with a depth of spice and intrigue (plenty of lemon zest). They’re so good, I need to put it on my site for easy reference. I hope you enjoy them as much as my husband and I do.
Triple Ginger Cookies
makes 5 dozen cookies using a 1-inch scoop; adapted from Heidi Swanson, 101Cookbooks.com
Ingredients
- 1 cup crystallized ginger, finely minced Co-Op bulk is the best!
- 2 cups whole wheat flour I like using Conservation Grains Old & Ancient and Snowgoose, 1 cup each (use what you like, white all-purpose works too)
- 4½ teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- 1½ tablespoons fresh ginger, peeled with a spoon and grated using a Microplane
- ¼ cup blackstrap molasses
- 1 large egg
- 2 lemons, zest only
For rolling: ½ cup turbinado sugar with smoked salt or sea salt (1 teaspoon is fine; original recipe uses a 3:1 sugar to salt ratio which I think would be too salty for me.
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350°F. Finely mince the crystallized ginger and set aside—really go at it with a big knife, as Heidi says, "a dramatic mince." Whisk together the flour, powdered ginger, baking soda, and salt.
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Melt the butter in a small saucepan and cool a bit. Stir in the molasses, granulated sugar, and fresh ginger. When the mixture is just warm, not hot, whisk in the egg. Pour over the flour mixture and stir in the crystallized ginger and lemon zest.
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Prepare the turbinado sugar and salt, if using, in a shallow bowl or plate.
Using a small 1-inch diameter cookie scoop, portion the dough and using your hands, roll each into a smooth ball. Roll each cookie in the sugar, then place on parchment-lined cookie sheet pan, one dozen at a time. Bake for 9–10 minutes until the cookies are fragrant and begin to crack on the top and dry at the edges. Transfer to a cooling rack.
