Ginger Snaps (Virginia Perett)

This is the second (and only other) recipe for ginger snaps in the Yellow Box, and there's no question that the first is better, so I'll provide a link to those Ginger Snaps here, but will go ahead and post this one, too, for posterity's sake.

Evidently, I forgot to take a photo of the cookies - either that or I accidentally deleted it. They looked similar to the other ginger snaps, except they came out much darker. I ended up throwing out what was leftover from my family's Christmas gathering. Maybe dunking them in milk would have been good, but I didn't care to try.

There's not much to the recipe - not even directions. I just followed the general process of most other cookies - cream shortening and sugar, add the egg, then sift the dry ingredients together and blend them into the mixture. Easy, yes, but the end product didn't knock my socks off. It was bland (for a ginger snap) and thin.

The other ginger snap recipe has butter instead of shortening, and additionally calls for vinegar as well as cloves. I have a feeling all three contribute significantly to the superior quality, and that's the recipe I'm sticking with from now on.

Sorry, Mrs. Perett (whoever and wherever you are), but your recipe just didn't do it for me.
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Ginger Snaps
(from Virginia Perett)

¾ cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1 egg
¼ cup molasses
2 cups flour
2 tsp soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger

Roll balls in sugar.
350° 12-15 min.

Jubilee Jumbles

I included this recipe in my holiday baking frenzy, and was pleased with the results. It isn't complicated, and after also making Peanut Blossoms and Ginger Snaps, I really appreciated being able to drop the cookie dough onto the baking sheet rather than rolling it into dozens of little balls.

The dough didn't expand a lot; it just puffed up into a nice dome, and held together well when I transferred the cookies to a cooling rack.

I especially liked the glaze in this recipe. The browned butter gives it a richer flavor (some would say "nutty" and I kind of agree).

Glazing was a simple but messy business; I recommend cooling racks so that the drips don't pool on the sides of the cookies, and I also suggest laying out waxed paper underneath the cooling racks to catch all the drips.

The recipe says to glaze the cookies while they're still warm. After a bit of trial and error, I determined that "still warm" does not mean "piping hot fresh from the oven." If the cookies were too hot, the glaze would liquify and slide right off into a puddle. What worked best was to wait a few minutes (time enough to wipe down the cookie sheet and get the next batch ready for the oven), then drizzle the glaze from a knife held an inch or two over each cookie. I made swirling and zigzag motions with my wrist to cover as much of the cookie as possible. The cookies were warm enough for the glaze to soften and spread out without completely running off the sides.

For a holiday look, red or green sprinkles would cling beautifully to the cookies before the glaze sets. A drop or two of food coloring in the glaze would also work well. (I did neither, myself, but I might try it next year.)

As for my overall verdict, note that I said I was pleased with the results - not thrilled - meaning that I think these cookies came out good enough to make again, but I'm not tripping over myself trying to convince you to get yourself a can of evaporated milk and prepare them immediately. They are very pretty cookies, with a soft texture and a delicate flavor. I think of them more as bite-sized cakes than cookies. With their subtle flavor, I found them to be a perfect accompaniment to an afternoon cup of tea.

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Jubilee Jumbles

½ cup shortening
1 cup brown sugar (packed)
½ cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 cup evaporated milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 ¾ cups flour
1 tsp salt
½ tsp soda
1 cup nuts

Mix thoroughly shortening, sugars, and eggs.
Stir in milk and vanilla.
Sift together dry ingredients [and nuts] and stir in.
Chill one hour.
Drop by rounded tablespoonsfull on greased baking sheet.
Bake 10 min. at 375° until delicately browned.
Frost with glaze while still warm.

Glaze
Heat 2 tbsp butter until golden brown. [monitor on med-low heat]
Beat in until smooth 2 cups powdered sugar and ¼ cup evaporated milk.

(4 dozen) (large)

Ginger Snaps

The holiday season is underway! I especially love the rich flavor and spice of ginger snaps this time of year, and this recipe is deliciously rich with flavor and spice. I have a feeling these cookies may become a holiday tradition for us.

The recipe is easy enough, though it is tedious work rolling out all those ¾-inch balls of dough. Turns out, Sarah, my trusty assistant (she came for coffee and I put her to work), isn't so trusty with the more tedious tasks - her cookies were twice the size they were supposed to be and spread out too much on the cookie sheet. I relieved her of her duties after the first batch and finished the job myself. Also, just because it seemed like a good idea, I rolled the dough balls in sugar before baking.

Sarah's cookies are on the left; mine are on the right:

The one thing I regret was that I took the cookies out of the oven too soon. The recipe says to let them cook 12 minutes, but I was afraid of overcooking them and left them in only about 9 minutes. I don't know what I was thinking. Ginger snaps are supposed to be snappy. What I mostly ended up with were more like ginger chews. They all tasted fantastic, but only a few of the smaller ones were crisp the way ginger snaps are supposed to be. Oh, well... there's always next year!

Ginger Snaps
Preheat oven to 325°
Cream ¾ cup butter with 2 cups sugar.
Stir in 2 well-beaten eggs, ½ cup molasses, 2 tsp vinegar.
Sift and add 3¾ cups all-purpose flour, 1½ tsp soda, 2-3 tsp ginger, ½ tsp cinnamon, ¼ tsp cloves.
Mix ingredients until blended.
Form dough into ¾-inch balls. [Roll in sugar if desired.]
Bake on a greased cookie sheet 12 min.

Cocoa Drop Cookies (Winnie Carter)

They look so good!

Unfortunately, I was disappointed by how these cookies turned out, which surprised me because the batter was delicious. I was hoping for a rich chocolate flavor, but they were a little bland and dry. The consistency is somewhere between a cake and a brownie. They aren't terrible, but they aren't good enough that I wanted to take credit for them at holiday parties (I set them out anyway - anonymously); nor did I include them in the goodie boxes we passed out to neighbors. The frosting is the only thing that saved the cookies from the trash. That, and the fact that it took me about an hour to frost them all - I couldn't throw that time and effort away.

I can't help but wonder if a different, premium brand of cocoa powder would improve the flavor. Wal-Mart grocery only carries Hershey's, but maybe one of the gourmet or organic stores would carry something better. I'm not that curious, though, so I probably won't be giving these another try anytime soon.

Next!

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Cocoa Drop Cookies
(from Winnie Carter)

½ cup soft shortening (part oleo)
1 cup sugar
1 egg
¾ cup buttermilk or sour milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 ¾ cups sifted flour
½ tsp soda
½ tsp salt
½ cup cocoa
1 cup chopped nuts

[Directions partly inferred from recipe card.]
Blend together shortening, sugar, and egg.
In a separate bowl, sift together dry ingredients.
Add dry ingredients and buttermilk alternately to mixture.
Stir in nuts and vanilla.

Chill dough for 1 hour.
Drop by teaspoonsfull on greased baking sheet.
Bake in 400° oven 8-10 min.

Frosting
¼ cup oleo melted over low heat
2 cups sifted confectioner's (powdered) sugar
2 tbsp cream
1 tsp vanilla or 2 drops black walnut flavoring

[Makes approx. 100 cookies]