Sunday, June 27, 2010

SMS: Ginger Snaps!


This week’s Sweet Melissa treat is Ginger Snaps. Although I have a couple of ginger snap recipes I like (which you can find posted here and here), I was happy to try a new one. I hadn’t made any in a while and, in my opinion, it’s pretty hard to go wrong with ginger snaps. I made just a few minor modifications to the recipe: I halved the recipe but used the full amount of spices, omitted the white pepper, rolled the cookies in coarse sugar before baking, and cut the baking time by several minutes in order to ensure a chewy cookie. Josh is a pretty equal-opportunity cookie eater, but he definitely has a preference for ones that are both sugar-coated and chewy, and I aim to please. White pepper does not seem to come up in ingredient lists, and when it does it is usually a minuscule amount, often enough for me to think I need to purchase a jar of it.



So how did these cookies stack up to the other snap recipes? Josh ate two straight out of the oven and said they were some of the best ginger snaps I’ve made. He shared some with his mom at a baseball game today and they got a big thumbs up from her as well. I think my vote may be for Alice Medrich’s recipe, which I really thought was the perfect ginger snap. That recipe calls for grated fresh ginger and crystallized ginger, though, and this recipe has no fussy ingredients (except for the pepper, which I decided wasn’t necessary), so if you want a good ginger snap cookie made from pantry staples, this one wins.



This recipe rated a 9 for Deliciousness and a 2 for Effort, for an EDR of 4.5. Many thanks to Gloria of The Ginger Snap Girl for selecting this treat. Stop by Gloria’s blog for an excellent ginger snap recipe and also because it’s a great blog; I always enjoy reading her posts and seeing her take on the Sweet Melissa recipes. And click on the bakers’ links on the Sweet Melissa site to see what the rest of the group thought of this treat.

14 comments:

Katiecakes said...

I love the sugar coating. Delicious!

Katie xox

Candy said...

I love the sugar coating too! I agree, this is a great out of the pantry recipe as is but can easily be jazzed up.

Unknown said...

I'm jealous of the shape of your cookies Margot! Mine flattened out and were super thin even though I took them out a few minutes early.. I skipped the pepper too - I'd tried it once in another gingersnap recipe and determined I wasn't a fan.

Baking is my Zen...sweet nibbles for the soul said...

Nicely photographed!

Carmen

Anonymous said...

They look so delicious with the sugar coating! I used to eat grocery store ginger snaps, which were so hard they were hard to bite!

JoAnn Freda said...

Do these leave the beloved Oatmeal Ginger cookies of your childhood in the dust?

JoAnn Freda said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
rebecca @ beurrista said...

They look lovely, and the Medrich ones you referred to look great too! I am going to have to try that one out.

margot said...

@Jo Ann: the oatmeal ones are good,too! You just can't go wrong with ginger cookies!

Gloria - The Ginger Snap Girl said...

Margot, your cookies look fab! The coarse sugar gives them a beautiful sparkle. I know what you mean about feeling compelled to buy an ingredient like white pepper....cause I totally caved and paid $5.49 for it! I don't think it made the cookies by any means. Yours sound great with extra spices. Will have to try that next time.

Glad to hear your cookies were so well received! I was very impressed by the 9 rating for deliciousness! :) If only my hubby would develop more of a sweet tooth...but at he liked this week's recipe.

Thank you for the kind words about my blog. Glad you were able to bake along this week.

Heather said...

These look delicious! Thank you for the comparison with other gingersnap recipes - I am always scouting around for new ones.

Julie said...

Your gingersnaps are beautiful! Love the sugar coating!!

Cakelaw said...

These look delicious - perfect with a cuppa for a pick me up.

Hanaâ said...

Your cookies look beautiful. Nice and thick (I'm not a big fan of super thin cookies). Glad they were a big hit!