Molasses Ginger Cookies

There are so many delicious fall flavors out there, and boy are they out there.  Everywhere I turn, I see pumpkin and apple flavored treats, and I've been sure to indulge.  Sweet apple topping on my frozen yogurt at my favorite ice cream shop, an apple cider donut at the donut shop, pumpkin coffee at the coffee shop...there is no shortage.

But it's a little too easy to focus on pumpkins and apples, and to forget about some of their important sidekicks: ginger and molasses.  In these soft, chewy cookies, molasses and ginger take center stage, with the warm, intense flavor of molasses and a double dose of ginger, from ginger powder and chopped crystallized ginger.
Some people around here claimed the flavor in these cookies was a little too strong, but some people also have been nevertheless seen with their hands poking back into the cookie jar.  (Only then did I confess to having accidentally been a little heavy handed with the ginger powder.)  I think they are perfect.  And they are so deliciously chewy, which is my favorite cookie texture.  Leave yours in the oven a little longer if you like a crisp cookie.
Molasses Ginger Cookie

yields 30 cookies

adapted (slightly) from The Simple Art of Eating Well

Ingredients:

1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened (or 1/8 cup butter and 1/8 cup trans fat-free butter substitute)

1 cup plus 1/3 cup sugar, divided

1 large egg, beaten

1/4 cup molasses

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1/3 cup crystallized ginger, finely chopped

Directions:

1. Beat the butter and 1 cup sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.  Add the egg and molasses.  Mix well.

2. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, cloves, and ginger.  Stir in the crystallized ginger. 

3. Add the flour mixture into the butter mixture, a cup at a time, until thoroughly incorporated.

4. Chill until the dough is firm, about 1/2 hour to 1 hour.  (I ran out of butter and used a butter substitute combined with butter.  My dough, as a result, was very soft, and I chilled it in the freezer.)

5. Preheat the oven to 375 Fahrenheit.  Lightly coat 2 baking sheets with cooking spray.

6. Roll the dough into balls, each about 1 inch big.  Roll each ball through the remaining 1/3 cup sugar and place on baking sheets, about 1 1/2 inches apart.

4. Place the cookies in the oven, and bake about 8-10 minutes, until they crackle on top.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool.