It's been a long holiday season, with family commitments greater than anticipated, and I never seem to get the 12 Cookies of Christmas out before the 25th. I should rename them and just call them the Cookies during December.
My normal assortment of cookies was lacking this year because every time I had a spare moment I would make one specific kind of cookie. When giving out platters, if there isn't an assortment, you tend to use more of one or two kinds. This leaves that situation of no assortment and constantly running out of one or two varieties of cookies. At this point I am down to having two batches of cookies left, Nannie's Oatmeal Cookies and Angie's Ricotta Cookies.
This recipe is from my friend, Diane Dias. Diane owns a company called Our Good Dog Spot, the premiere online shopping destination for your classic, glamorous, preppy or trendy pup. Her daughter, Emily, and my son, Brian, have been friends since junior high school and are freshman at the University of Missouri. It's nice to have a familiar face at college when you are a 3-hour plane trip from home. When I was visiting Diane recently, she shared a favorite cookie recipe of Emily's called Dipped Gingersnaps. I was so excited about the recipe, I went home that night and made a batch. (See that gorgeous photo above!)
I was excited as well as disappointed when I made them. Excited because these cookies were delicious...chewy, yet crunchy and the spices were perfect. They are dipped in white chocolate but it tastes more like a rich vanilla icing which was perfect for me. My disappointment...I like them better than my favorite Ruby Warner's Ginger Snaps.
So, in my rush to get another batch done before the holidays, I half read the directions and ended up putting 4 teaspoons of baking powder verses baking soda in the recipe...what a disaster! They came out like chunky doughy balls...not good. My fault though, I rushing to get them finished before the holiday, but as soon as I am done posting this article, I'm heading back into the kitchen to make a batch. I need to be prepared for New Years!
Dipped Gingersnaps
Ingredients:
1-1/2 cups of vegetable oil
2 cups of white sugar
2 eggs
1/4 cup of molasses
5 cups of flour
4 teaspoons of baking soda
1 tablespoon of ground ginger
2 teaspoons of cinnamon
1 teaspoon of salt
Additional sugar for rolling (I use demerara sugar)
12 ounces of white chocolate chips (or vanilla flavored chips)
1/4 cups of shortening
Preparation:
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
1. Combine sugar and oil in a large bowl. Mix well. (I used my mixer)
2. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each egg.
3. Stir in molasses.
4. Combine flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl.
5. Gradually add dry ingredients to creamed mixture and mix well.
6. Shape into 3/4 to 1 inch balls, roll in sugar. Place 2 inches apart on cookie sheet.
7. Bake for 8 minutes or until the cookie springs back when touched. (It will be crackled, too)
8. Melt chips and shortening in a double boiler over low heat. Dip cookies half way, shake off excess and place on lined wax paper until hardened.
Makes between 8-10 dozen.
