Fuzz and I hit the thrift shops this week where I scored a copy of The Silver Palate Good Times Cookbook for 50 cents. I’ve used the original Silver Palate Cookbook for a few years now and love it. The recipes in the Good Times sequel are a little fancier, so hopefully we’ll find some we like as much as these Three-Ginger Cookies, which are perfect for Christmas. I will say this is probably one of the simplest recipes in the book. It’s from a chapter titled “Sassy Ginger Salute” which encourages readers to be adventurous with ginger. Okay!
Three-Ginger Cookies Ingredients
As the name implies, you will need three kinds of ginger — ground ginger, crystallized and fresh ginger. The ground ginger is easy to find. For the crystallized, you might find it in the bulk section. For the fresh, you can use substitute the jarred type if you have to, but fresh is better. I tested with both and had good results with each.
Texture and Flavor
The butter and dark brown sugar make these ginger cookies chewy. They are not crunchy or snappy at all. If you like the idea of a crunchy Gingersnaps, King Arthur has a similar recipe that calls for shortening and uses granulated sugar in place of the dark brown, but these are definitely chewy.
You’ve probably made a million batches of ginger cookies and know what you’re doing, but here are a few tips anyway.
Three-Ginger Cookies Tips
- Make sure you use unsalted butter. Even though the recipe calls for only 1/2 teaspoon of salt, the 2 teaspoons of baking soda also adds saltiness so 1/2 teaspoon is plenty.
- If you don’t have a scale, make sure to measure the flour with a light hand or sift it before measuring. If you have a scale you can just weigh out 280 grams.
- I tested with fresh ginger and ginger from a jar (the kind found in the produce section). The jarred ginger worked quite well. Fresh may be a little better, but you can definitely substitute the jarred type.
- To chop the crystallized ginger, take the biggest pieces and flatten them out in front of you. Cut into thin matchstick size strips, then turn and dice.
More Ginger Cookies!
Recipe
Three-Ginger Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, spoon lightly into cup or weigh (280 grams)
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature (170 grams)
- 1 cup very tightly packed dark brown sugar (210 grams)
- 1/4 cup mild molasses (75 grams)
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh ginger or well drained from jar
- 1/2 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger
Instructions
- Mix together flour, baking soda, salt and ground ginger. Set aside.
- Using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar in large bowl until well blended, scraping sides of bowl often.
- Add egg and molasses and beat until blended, then stir in the dry ingredients (flour mixture).
- Stir in the chopped ginger and crystalized ginger.
- Cover bowl and chill for 2 hours or overnight. If you want, you can portion the 36 to 40 cookie balls ahead of time, arrange on a tray and cover before chilling.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Shape dough into 1 inch balls and arrange 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake one sheet at a time for 10 minutes or until cookies are browned.
- Remove from oven and transfer cookies to a wire rack.
Anna
I made two batches so I had a lot of dough. Some it I baked immediately, and some of it I refrigerated overnight. The cookies made with the chilled dough held their shape better. Also, the recipe doesn’t say to roll them in coarse sugar, but the cookies look a lot better when rolled in sparkly sugar.
T. Martin
Christmas Eve eve dessert decided. Did you rest the batter before baking or go straight from mixing to oven?
Sonya
Sounds delicious!
Sue
These sound good! That’s fun that you got that book for 50 cents!
I like your tip for cutting crystallized ginger. Thanks!