Give your gingersnaps a little update by adding white chocolate chips and dried cranberries. You’ll love the way the creamy white chocolate mellows out the spicy ginger and dark molasses. Tangy cranberries intensify the experience with chewy little bursts of fruity delight. How long it takes: 15 minutes to stir up the dough, 12 minutes per batch to bake Equipment you’ll need: mixing bowl, measuring utensils, baking sheet, oven Servings: makes 4 dozen, depending on size When I was younger (read “the little sister”), ginger sparkles were always my older sister’s thing. My job was making two-ingredient chocolate peanut butter cups and my sister got the far superior job of rolling the gingersnap cookie dough into marble-sized balls, then rolling them in sugar. Now I can bake to my heart’s content, and roll as many cookie dough balls as I like (and wishing my sister was helping me out!). I think I’ll invite her over for a cookie making jam session. I’ll bribe her with delicious ginger spiced hot chocolate which you can make in your microwave and goes so perfectly with gingersnaps. Homemade eggnog may be tempting too. Hmmm, or maybe she’d rather have an adult beverage with her cookie, like a white Russian or an apple cider mule. And I know she always says yes to a shot of espresso!
About this Gingersnap Cookie Recipe
Ginger snaps are usually round crisp cookies with deep cracks and a sugary coating. This is easily achieved by forming the dough into balls and rolling them in sugar. The trademark cracks appear by magic (and a little help from baking powder). These enhanced ginger cookies have a slightly chunkier look but still sport the familiar crackles. There are instructions for making chewy cookies and crisp cookies, whichever you prefer. Maybe you’re feeling a little outrage. Are you a gingersnap purist? Do you think absolutely nothing can improve what’s already perfect? Rest assured, the additions of white chocolate and cranberries only enhance the gingersnap experience. I’ll run you through the process here and give you some extra tips and a few variations you can try.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Molasses: We used light unsulphured molasses (Grandma’s Original Molasses) for the cookies pictured and we prefer it as it allows the other flavors to costar (see the note below for more information about molasses). Sugar: White granulated sugar (just regular sugar) is used for both the dough and to roll the cookies, giving them a sparkling appearance. Egg: Eggs add a bit of chewiness to the cookie and bind the dough. Shortening: We found that using all shortening and no butter works best for these cookies. All-Purpose Flour: Just regular flour is fine. If you prefer, use white whole wheat or a combination. The cookies will be a bit more substantial with whole wheat. Ground Ginger: You’ll find it in the baking section of the grocery store. This recipe calls for a whole tablespoon which is a pretty substantial hit of this zingy spice. These are ginger cookies after all. Cinnamon: Ground cinnamon has a sweeter effect on the palate and mellows out the ginger a bit. Plus, it just plain tastes good. Baking Powder: This leavening agent helps the cookies rise and contributes to the crackled surface of the cookie. Salt: Just a bit for flavor. Leaving it out makes your cookies taste flat. White Chocolate Chips: Doesn’t white chocolate make everything better? I’m tempted to add it to all my cookie recipes. Be sure to try my white chocolate macadamia nut cookies, too. Dried Cranberries: The chewiness of this dried fruit really contrasts with the crispy cookies.
How To make These Gingersnap Cookies
This is an easy cookie dough to make and it doesn’t require any chilling time. However, if you’d rather make the dough and bake it later, that’s fine too. The cookies are pretty forgiving that way. Turn your oven on to preheat and let’s get started. You’ll need just one large mixing bowl. We love one bowl baking! Cream the shortening and sugar together in the bowl. You can do this by hand or use an electric mixer. When the shortening and sugar looks creamy and smooth, add the egg and molasses, and stir well. Next, measure out the flour and put it on top of the shortening mixture. Make sure to spoon the flour lightly into the measuring cup so it isn’t packed down. Add the other dry ingredients (ginger, cinnamon, baking powder, salt) to the flour and mix them lightly together. When the dry ingredients are sort of blended together, go ahead and stir them into the wet ingredients. Mix the dough just until it’s blended together. Stir in the white chocolate chips and dried cranberries. Roll small sized balls of dough, about rounded 1 tablespoon each. You don’t have to measure, but try to keep the balls around the same size so they bake evenly. Put a quarter cup of sugar in a shallow bowl and roll the balls in the sugar until they are completely coated. Place the balls on a baking sheet about 2 inches apart. They will spread a bit. Bake 12 minutes for chewier cookies, or a couple minutes longer for crisper cookies. Weren’t those fun to make? Enjoy!
Make It Your Own
If you’re anything like me, you’ll want to fiddle with this recipe and make changes of your own. Here are a few ideas:
Substitute semi-sweet chocolate chips for the white chocolate. Both types work really well in this recipe. Add more ginger. If you really love ginger, substitute chopped crystallized ginger for the dried cranberries. You’ll probably want to use a bit less, about a quarter cup because it has a pretty intense flavor. Golden raisins are a good substitute for the dried cranberries, too. Try dipped cookies. If you like the idea of white chocolate but want a fancier look to your cookies, dip regular gingersnaps into melted white chocolate. I like to dip them in halfway so they have a half and half appearance. Dipped cookies can be decorated with tinted sugar.
Make-Ahead Ideas
Refrigerate: The cookie dough can be made ahead. Put it into an airtight container or bag and store in the refrigerator for a couple of days. If it seems really stiff, let it set out at room temperature for 10 minutes or so before rolling into balls. Freeze the dough. Cookie dough can also be frozen for up to a month, either as a whole (thaw overnight in the fridge before using) or made into balls. Freeze individual cookie dough balls on a baking sheet until they are firm before storing in a container. Add a couple of minutes to the baking time if you’re baking frozen cookie dough balls (no need to thaw them first).
Storage Tips
Storing baked cookies: Baked cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week or frozen for up to a month. Quick-Start Guide!
