Monday, November 9, 2009

it's that time of year again


It's the start of the cookie season. These babies are perfect with a
cup of Yorkshire Gold tea on a frosty afternoon. My world (at least
in my neck of the woods) famous ginger cookies are big, moist and
chewy. The warm blend of ginger, cinnamon and cloves are so
symbolic of fall. I love this recipe, too, because they turn out exactly
the same way every single time I make them. Give this recipe a try
and tell me if you don't absolutely love them.

Willow's World Famous Big Soft Ginger Cookies

4 1/2 cups flour
4 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
1 cup Crisco shortening
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup molasses
1 cup extra sugar for rolling

Combine the dry ingredients and set aside.

In electric mixer set on medium, beat butter and shortening until
blended, add sugar. Add eggs and molasses and beat well.

Stir flour mixture into egg mixture.

Shape dough into 2" golf ball sized balls and roll into sugar to coat.

Bake on ungreased sheet for 11 minutes at 350. Cool on sheet for
2-3 minutes, then transfer to rack and let cool. Makes about 18
large cookies.
.
**note: I inadvertently omitted the sugar earlier, it has now been
added!

84 comments:

Bee said...

I am overcome with nostalgia at the thought of these cookies. My grandmother used to make them, but she called them "molasses crinkles." Thanks so much for the recipe! I am making them tomorrow; no doubt about it.

Not The Rockefellers said...

These look like perfection...and to have one straight from the oven?

Ambrosia :)

Peace ~ Rene

Shaista said...

Wow! These look amazing :)
I want to try it but I don't know what Crisco shortening is!! Or at least what its English alternative is...

JC said...

They looked, so good I just printed off the recipe.

Butternut Squash said...

Thank you, thank you. I have been looking for a recipe like this. These look fantastic.

Cait O'Connor said...

Not sure what Crisco shortening is?, we don't have it over here but the recipe sounds great.

lakeviewer said...

Ah, warm cookies on a cold evening, with a hot cup of tea/coffee.

willow said...

Hey, all, if Crisco is not available, I would substitute butter. I've never made them with all butter, so I can't promise they would be the same. Let me know how they turn out.

willow said...

Lard would be another alternative to Crisco, although I never use it. I'm sure it's not any worse for you than butter or Crisco.

tale of many cities said...

ohhhh YUMMMMMMMY!! thanks for the recipe!!

Ronda Laveen said...

I love ginger cookies. I'm making your chicken recipe tonight. Will give these a try next.

Natalie said...

Oh YUM. I am going to give these a whirl using butter. How much is in a 'stick of butter'?
Sorry, I always seem to ask stupid questions re: recipes, but things are different down here in Oz. :D

Jeane said...

wow! I think these would go with any beverage or no beverage either morning, noon or night or in between for snack - I will actually give these a try - thanks Willow :)

willow said...

Natalie, one stick of butter is 4 oz. or 1/2 cup...does that help?

John Hayes said...

I love ginger cookies--these sound great!

Chemin des Muguets said...

Willow,

My childhood food memory is of Mrs. Conn who lived next to us at the lake, and made the most delicious molasses cookies in the whole world. My little nose would catch the sweet scent of cookies baking in her oven, and I would think of excuses to pop next door. She must have known how much I loved them, because I never came home empty-handed. For years I have been trying to recreate this recipe. Yours just might be it.

Thank you,

Marjorie

willow said...

CdM, what a sweet memory. I hope this recipe fits the bill. Let me know!

Pamela Terry and Edward said...

My absolute favourite cookie. In the whole wide world! And, did you know, they can cure car-sickness?? Really.

Looks like a wonderful recipe! Thank you for sharing!!

otin said...

Now this is a post that I can get in to!!! Yum!!!

ellen abbott said...

I'll have to try these next time one of the kids comes out.

Betsy said...

Not quite the same as my recipe, but oh so close! And I've had these at the manor...heavenly! :)

Oh My Goddess said...

I love love love Chewy Cookies!

Sadly, I live in a house where the Crispy Cookie is preferred.

I shall endeavor to buck the current and make these soon.

Vicki Lane said...

These sound great -- I love ginger cookies!

Lyn said...

My,how I love to bake cookies..these seem like a dream..can't wait...soft?..yum.

The Prodigal Tourist said...

Those look fabulous...Hope they're good with Brooke Bond too, all out of Yorkshire Gold...

rxBambi said...

these look amazing, and not at all like ginger snaps from a box ;)
I'm definitely gonna have my 14yo make them (she's the baker). I'll be sure to let you know how they turn out!

RNSANE said...

Sounds like the perfect contribution to take up over Thanksgiving to my son's - he and his bride-to-be are hosting the occasion for the first time in the new home they purchased a few months ago. I'll be able to add the recipe to the collection Laura is beginning! I'm glad they are chewy...I like chewy cookies! I'll try a "test" batch when I get back to San Francisco Thursday.

Andrea Cremer said...

mmmmmmm, cookies...

Natalie said...

Yep! thanks.

Teri said...

I have been looking for a great ginger cookie recipe and now, I think I might just have it, thanks to you. It's not going to help my chances at losing weight though! How do you stop at just one??? Can you?

willow said...

Yup, I am proud to say, I actually did only eat just one today when I made them. The rest went in the freezer. :P

Leah said...

These are my family's very favorite cookie! We call them "molasses crinkles" too (as Bee said), but they're the same. We make them so often, I've memorized the recipe! I'm so glad to know that they are so beloved by others.

Brian Miller said...

i can smell them...and they are making me hungry...

RNSANE said...

Thanks, Willow, I've emailed myself the corrected recipe. I won't get back to San Francisco till after midnight Thursday so I won't be trying them out till late in the day...but they wouldn't be the same without sugar and I might not have even noticed the recipe didn't include any!!!

Sandra Leigh said...

I couldn't remember what shortening I had seen in England, so I went googling. I found a reference to something called Cookeen - http://www.answers.com/topic/cookeen

Those cookies look wonderful. I can almost taste them.

Dorci said...

Mmm..crackly.

donna baker said...

Pray tell, Willow, how do you refrain from eating them all? Not a very common cookie, which I would expect from you dear, but delicious just the same.

sue said...

Oh, ginger cookies are my favorites--I used to make 'em for Eric and send them off, individually wrapped in plastic, in tins, when he was in college. They're his favorites, too. You're killin' me, Willow--I can't bake on the road. I'll just have to pretend I smell those scrumptious smells...

Arija said...

They sound great, but our temps. are threatening to pass the 100F mark and the oven is to be avoided at sll costs.

Willow, we saw a delicious Maggie Smith film called A House in Umbria last night. It was so gentle yet poignant that we both loved it.

Merisi said...

Mmmmmmmmh!
I was contemplating baking cookies yesterday,
but reason and the need to fit into my clothes won over the urge. :-(

I think I know exactly which tea you are talking about (haven't we talked about it before? *grumble, my memory!).

To a great week,
and more virtual cookies please
(they do become me!),
Merisi

vicki archer said...

Yum, yum...I am a ginger addict so these sound perfect to me, xv.

willow said...

Arija, "My House in Umbria" is one of my faves, in fact, I watch it so much, I had to buy myself a copy. Maggie Smith is brilliant!

Tom said...

mmmmmm, gingerbread cookies are my favorite. Can just imagine how wonderful your house smells during the baking season.

Rebecca said...

Yorkshire Gold! Now you're talking..The cookies look wonderful, and I'll wager they smell heavenly.

√ Abraham Lincoln said...

I love cookies.

ArtPropelled said...

Mmmmm ...These I will have to try! Your photograph is actually making my mouth water .... profusely. Love the new look of your blog, Willow.... and the Dr Zhivago hat.

La Petite Gallery said...

I am going to make cookies today
how about some candied ginger?
Mad about anything with GINGER.
Happy baking winters coming.

CatLadyLarew said...

Yum! I love ginger cookies! Thanks for your secret recipe!

Gaston Studio said...

I can almost smell them! Do you happen to have a recipe for peanut butter and chocolate cookies?

Marcheline said...

Willow - one question.

Are you supposed to smudge the golf balls flat before baking them, or do they magically melt down into the final result by themselves?

Cheers,
M

willow said...

Marcheline, they magically melt! :)

spacedlaw said...

They look wonderful. I must try and see if I can translate the ingredients into European ones (butter+butter for instance)...

Suzyhayze said...

Always exactly what I need!

Did you write a story for my contest? I hope so!

Candie Bracci said...

Oh yeah!!!!!!!!!Cookies!You guys are doing them so well!Well I would trade one of our eclair for one of those;now if possible!LOL

Lizzy Frizzfrock said...

Whoopee! I think I'll give it a try! Thanks for sharing! :-}

Alan Burnett said...

"Yorkshire Gold" tea. I'm touched. Mind you it should be made with real Yorkshire water. Shall I send you some over?

willow said...

Oh, Alan, you're such a dear. Yes, could you? This Ohio well water just isn't the same.

studioJudith said...

I so love the concept that
it's the "start of cookie season."
Never thought of it quite that way -
but, you're so right!

And
of course, cookie season starts just as the fall crop of candy corn is just about gone.

Jjjj

Butternut Squash said...

Thanks for giving me the heads up. I'm sure I would have caught the omit when I tried to put it together.

Maalie said...

Hooray! It's cookie time again!

High Desert Design Council said...

Love the hat!

High Desert Diva said...

oops!
That was me!

Kass said...

Those look DIVINE!!
Will try them for Thanksgiving. I wish I could have them now with some Out Of Africa tea that I brought back from Kenya.

Carrie said...

Willow, these look too scrumptious to pass up. I've just copied down the recipe and I think I'll try them out this weekend. :)

Thanks so much for the tip!

janis said...

yummy!

Daryl said...

ToonMan's mom made these, she called them her molasses cookies

Bee's Blog said...

Wonderful recipe - thank you.

Shaista: equivalent Crisco shortening - use half lard / half margarine if you'd rather not use the whole amount in lard - will alter the taste though!

staceyjwarner said...

Oh yummy! Thank you and love the hat...you are so cool!

much love

Dakota Bear said...

I love ginger and a soft cookie, so I will have to try these.

Leonora said...

Thanks for the recipe! I baked these today to take along with a meal for a couple and their newly arrived baby. These bake up so nicely, no fuss, pretty presentation and delicious! (I kept half for us.)

willow said...

Leonora, I'm happy to hear you liked them. They are fool proof deliciousness.

...mmm... said...

OH YUMMM!!!! can not believe I missed this. Wow:

"These babies are perfect with a
cup of Yorkshire Gold tea on a frosty afternoon. "
--It;s got to be good then! 'm trying not to drool here.

Oliag said...

Yorkshire Gold tea sounds so intriguing!...with or without ginger cookies I must find some and try it:)

Chell... said...

Good evening Willow! I know this is a couple days past the original posting but I finally managed to get in front of my oven today and try your recipe....

GREAT! I love'em!

My husband was trying one and said: "UGH! AWFUL! Don't ever make these again!"

I was practically in tears until he said "Just kidding!!! These are really good!"

I could have thrown the spatula at him! lol. Thanks for sharing!

willow said...

Chell, heehee, you had me going there for a minute! Glad to hear you both liked them! :)

Barbara Martin said...

Ginger cookies are perfect for this time of year.

A Cuban In London said...

Lovely recipe and don't you just adore the crunchiness of these beauties?

Greetings from London.

Anali said...

These look heavenly! Your recipe reminds me that I need to buy more ginger and molasses. : )

Millie said...

MOTH the Great Ginger Addict thanks you from the bottom of his ginger-loving heart Willow!
Millie ^_^

FireLight said...

I am making a batch of these this weekend! The Colonel loves ginger cookies!

Eileen said...

I just made these delicious cookies for my boyfriend! What a yummy treat, perfect for snuggling up with a good book on a cold day...

Ever heard of anyone dipping their gingerbread cookies into coffee? I was skeptical, but pleasantly surprised.

tobie said...

I would love to make them but..please could you advise a Uk equivalent to Christo Shortening. Thanks Willow xxxxx

willow said...

Tobie, the only alternatives for Crisco I can suggest would be butter or lard. I can't say that I've tried either, though. Let me know how they turn out!

Bee said...

Willow - I just came over to get this recipe, and I noticed Tobie's comment.

In the UK, there is a vegetable shortening called Trex. That is what he needs. It isn't quite as good as Crisco (which I bring over from the U.S.), but it's nearly the same.