Normally we do not keep sugary treats around the house; except for the occasional pint of ice cream. But those can take more than a month to finish off some times. However... about a month ago I was at the gym and had the TV turned to Food Network(what an oxymoron, gym time and food tv). Of the three shows that aired while I was there, every one of them made cookies. This of course gave me a massive craving for COOKIES! But not just any cookie, Ina Garten's ultimate ginger cookie. I printed off the recipe and planned to make it that weekend, but no local store carried the 'crystalized ginger' that the recipe calls for. So I waited till my trip to Jacksonville where I picked some up at Whole Foods Market. Of course it was just my luck that the day I planned on making them we went to Publix and wouldn't you know it, they reorganized the store and put in a bulk foods bin where they now carry candied ginger. Candied/Crystalized ginger are the same thing, it's raw ginger that is sliced thinly or into chunks and boiled till soft in simple syrup. It is then rolled in granulated sugar to keep it from sticking to itself.
The batter gets quite stiff. I was glad to have my trusty kitchen aid mixer around.
The recipe is very easy, and surprisingly there is no butter involved. Ina apparently makes very large cookies, because her yield is only 12, where as I made smaller ones and ended up with 24.
These are some of the best cookies I've ever had. My other top favorites are my mom's snow ball cookies that we only make at christmas time, and Ryan's mom's white chocolate macadamia nut cookies. The double chocolate chip cookie from Panera is right up there too. But these truly are the ultimate ginger cookie. Crunchy around the outer perimeter, and still soft in the middle. The bits of candied ginger are not over powering, but keep the cookie moist. They also work well as a palate cleanser after a very garlicky meal. I made these in the afternoon, and that night I couldn't help but walk to the gas station and pick up some vanilla ice cream. It was heaven! The crunchy cookies and creamy vanilla goodness were just perfect.
This past week Ryan told his coworkers about these amazing cookies and I have now been entrusted to bake up a double batch for their summer BBQ. So here I am baking away, and just happy that as the cook I'm always allowed a little nibble. It's a good thing we canceled cable at the apartment and that I can no longer watch food network on my days off, otherwise we might be run over with cookies, pies, and egg soufflés. I might be an RD first, but my inherited sweet tooth and inner foodie are not far behind.
So here is the nutrition information whether you wanted to know or not. If not, stop reading now.
1 cookie (Batch of 24)
120 Kcals, 2.7g Fat, 1.5g Protein, 23g Carbs, 0.4g Fiber, 250mg Sodium
Sounds great. Bet you could sub 1/2 whole wheat flour, cut back on the salt & sub some applesauce for the oil and it would be as good! (I printed the recipe!)
ReplyDeleteYou could, but I'm guessing they wouldn't be quite as good. I'm leaving the recipe as is and treating them as a treat.
ReplyDeleteWe love ginger cookies and I can't remember the last time I have actually made them, well when this heat lets up I will have to change that and bake some up. Thanks for the recipe.
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