For years now I have been dreaming of the day when I could harvest ginger from the potted plant that spend winters next my desk.  I plan on preserving my ample harvest by pickling and candying  the rhizomes.  Last year I even practiced.  I made a jar of pickled ginger that I am still using in stir-fry.  And the sugar left from making crystallized ginger, that has been sitting in my cabinet for a year now, was used in these ginger snaps.

When I finally got around to making these cookies,  I discovered that the container of powered ginger I had was infested with bugs, so I decided to use the crystalized ginger I had made last year.  I served the cookies to my friends at CheaterChef, only to discover that ginger snaps are R. B.’s favorite cookie.  Both him and Min gave my cookies the thumbs up.  But I guess most of the credit goes to those little bugs, because I am sure that these cookies were so good because I used crystallized ginger in place of powered ginger.

Now if I could only get my ginger plant to grow.  I know others here in Nashville grow great ginger.

4 teaspoons crystallized ginger, finally ground
1/8 teaspoon black pepper corns
1/8 teaspoon cardamon seeds, removed from pods
1 1/2 sticks butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoons ground cinnamon
¼ cup molasses
1 large egg, at room temperature
2 cups flour
1½ teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
turbinabo or raw sugar for coating the cookies

In a spice mill, finally grind the crystalized ginger. Set aside. Now put the peppercorns and cardamon seeds in the spice mill and finally grind. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter, sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla, cinnamon, ginger and just a pinch of the cardamon/pepper mixture, beat until well combined, then add the molasses. Beat until well combined. Now taste what you have, adding more cardamon/pepper if desired. Caution the cardamon can easily overpower the other flavors. At this point you could add more cinnamon and ginger if desired.

Beat in the egg, then add the flour, baking soda and salt. Mix until the dough in smooth

Divide the dough into two equal portions and roll each on a lightly-floured surface until each is about 2-inches around.

Wrap each in plastic wrap then roll them lightly on the counter to smooth them out. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 5 days. Or freeze for up to three months.

To bake, preheat the oven to 350F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Slice cookie dough into 1/4-inch rounds. Roll into a ball, then roll the ball in a bowl of raw sugar until completely coated. Place on a cookie sheet leaving enough room for the ball to flatten and spread as it bakes.

Bake for 10-14 minutes or until the tops are covered with little cracks. The cookies will puff up a bit while baking, then settle down when they’re done. Shorter baking time will yield a softer cooker. For my oven, 12 minutes is perfect. I get a cookie that snaps on the outside but is soft and chewy on the inside.

Let the cookies cool two minutes, then remove them with a spatula and transfer to a cooling rack.

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