Larry’s Ginger Cookies!

Okay, the agony is over…here is the recipe, but I warn you that Larry likes to modify his recipes every single time he makes these!!!

Larry’s Ginger-Orange-Molasses Cookies

Ingredients :

4 cups of all purpose flour , whole wheat is OK  ( I think it is better!)

2 1/2 tablespoons  ground ginger, more or less “a tu gusto”!

1 1/2 to 2 tsp of coarse ground black pepper  This amount gives a good kick without over powering!

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup softened butter, (I use unsalted)  if  you use salted you may want to adjust the amount of salt above

1 cup of  brown sugar

1 cup  dark molasses

1 teaspoon  baking soda dissolved in 1 tablespoon of water

Zest of 3 or 4 medium  oranges

About 1/2 to 3/4 cup cranberries, finely chopped

Powdered clove (add to enhance taste but not so much as you can taste it…start with about 1/4 tsp and experiment)

Preparation :

Step One

In one bowl add the dry ingredients, including cranberries and orange zest. Whisk together thoroughly.

Step Two

In a separate bowl large enough to blend together all of the ingredients, put the butter and brown sugar.
Using a mixer on slow speed, blend the butter and brown sugar until creamy.
Blend in the  molasses.
Finally, blend in  the dissolved  baking soda mixture.

Add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients.
Fold in completely!  Use the mixer to finish blending thoroughly. The mixture is easier to work with if it is slightly chilled.  If too hard, let it soften slightly.

Baking :
I use a small, releasing type, ice cream scoop. It helps to make the cookies more uniform in size. I spray the inside of it with a small amount of PAM to make the batter release better.
If the mixture begins to stick, spray a little more PAM into the scoop.
I use silicone baking sheets for ease of  removing the cookies and cleaning.
Bake about 10 to 11 minutes @ 350 F.  Longer for a firmer textured cookie, shorter for a softer cookie.  I put the silicone on a good quality light coloured baking sheet….it seems to prevent the bottom of the cookies from over-browning.

Yield:  7 dozen or more using the mini ice cream scoop.

Enjoy! And, of course, adjust the ginger, clove, black pepper and orange zest and cranberries to suit your own taste buds.  Or be creative and vary the recipe!   Let me know if you come up with some yummy variations!

larry225mc@gmail.com