Gingersnaps

Or as I like to call them, "Gingersnaps Yo," thanks to my friend Hanna's little sister. Back when Hanna and I lived together, the recipe for these amazing cookies showed up one day on our fridge. Hanna had wanted to make gingersnaps, so I think that her sister wrote down the recipe from their mom and gave the well-known cookie's name a new twist. I have made gingersnaps my whole life and this is now my go-to recipe. When we moved, I somehow ended up with the recipe for a while in my stash of random recipes that are all jotted down on random pieces of paper. I have this little magnetic notepad thing with a pocket that usually sits on the front of my fridge. The pocket is great for holding recipes, notes, and coupons. One day when I was going through the clippings, I found the "gingersnaps yo" page. I have since then given the recipe back to Hanna, but not before making sure it was added to my collection.

One thing I really like about these cookies is that they are really easy to make and the recipe does not make a huge batch of cookies, so it's perfect if I'm making cookies for just the two of us at home. If you are wanting to take the cookies to an event or something, or you happen to live with several cookie monsters, you might want to double the recipe. Also, I usually tend to bake them so that they are more chewy instead of snappy, like the name implies. That, of course, is up to you.

 As the cookies were baking last night, my husband told me it smelled like Christmas in our apartment. How can you go wrong with something that smells like that? :)

Gingersnaps Yo
Makes about 30 cookies

1 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup molasses
1 egg
2 1/4 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup sugar, for rolling

1. Preheat the oven to 350°.

2. Begin by creaming together the butter and the sugar in a large bowl until combined. Add in the molasses and the the egg. Mix well, then set the bowl aside.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and all the spices until no streaks remain. Add the dry ingredients into the large bowl with the wet ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon until well combined.

4. If the dough is very soft, refrigerate it for about 30 minutes to allow the dough to firm up. When ready to bake, roll teaspoon sized balls of dough in sugar and place on an ungreased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart from each other.

5. Bake for 8 to 12 minutes. For a truly snappy cookie, you can bake the cookies for a minutes longer, but be careful not to burn them! Allow the cookies to cool for a few minutes on the cookie sheet, then move to a wire cooling rack to cool completely. Enjoy!