Chewy Ginger Snaps

Sit down.  No really, I mean it.  There are 12 weeks until Christmas.  Seriously.  Get out your calendar and count if you don't believe me!  Do you know how I know this?  Because I'm participating in the 12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies this year.  It's hosted by April of Abby Sweets.  And there's a linky thing to all the other cookie posts  down at the bottom of this post.  Or at least there's supposed to be.  ;)

Aside from being horrible at time management and also being a huge procrastinator, want to know what my biggest problem has been?  Narrowing down what cookies I'm going to make!  There are just so many choices out there.  I decided to start with this recipe for Chewy Ginger Snaps.

I got this recipe many years ago off an online parenting message board, and I've made it several times since then and adjusted the recipe slightly.  I'm sure there are several recipes out there, and I'm just not certain of the original source.  I quite often make these to go in gift tins at Christmas, so I thought it would be a perfect recipe to share!

I like ginger snaps, and this is a really good soft & chewy version.  It's fairly easy to make, although rolling them into balls and coating with sugar does take a little more time than a drop cookie, but it's worth it. 

I only baked eight of the cookies.  The rest, I shaped into balls, placed on a baking sheet in the freezer, and then transferred to an airtight container once frozen.  Note, I did NOT roll them in sugar before freezing.  I didn't think that would be a good idea!  I've never frozen this dough before, so I thought it would be a nice experiment.  And I'll {hopefully} have cookies ready to go later in the season!  Here's a good post about freezing cookie dough.

Chewy Ginger Snaps

1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup unsulphured molasses
1 large egg
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
additional granulated sugar for rolling, about 1/4 cup

With a stand mixer, cream together the 1 cup sugar and butter.  Add the molasses and egg and beat until light and fluffy. 

In a medium bowl, sift or whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg.  Add to the wet ingredients and mix just until combined.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour (or overnight). 

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350'F and line your baking sheets with parchment paper.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and shape into 1" balls.  (I use a #40 disher and then roll into a ball so that they are uniform in size.)  Roll in the remaining sugar and place 2" apart on prepared baking sheets.  Bake for 8-12 minutes or until set.  Let cool on baking sheets for 1-2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes about 2 1/2 dozen cookies.

Enjoy!  :)