I'm not going to mince words here: this is one of the best cookies I've ever eaten. My friend Jen, whom you just met through her soup recipe post, brought these to the Eat on $30 Challenge wrap party. They sat on a plate pretty innocent like. People plowed through all of the savory apps and then made their way to this unassuming brown crackly cookie. Glimmering with a little coarse sugar, they just hinted at how delicious they would be. A plate of them was devoured in mere minutes. Everything you want a cookie to be - sweet but not too sweet, chewy with a little give, perfectly spiced and baked.
Yesterday, a conversation online between Betty and I ended with BOTH of us baking these cookies. When I mentioned that I had made them, other people who attended the party gathered up the ingredients and made them, as well. A viral cookie baking outbreak. There are ginger chewies all over Atlanta...if they haven't been eaten already.
I made this batch - my first - per recipe to see how they turn out. Jen makes two tweaks to hers that I think are crucial: rolling them in coarse Turbinado sugar makes a world of different. The slight crunch of the sugar is incredible with the chewy cookie. Also, she makes her smaller, which aids to a better texture and a slightly flatter cookie. You can adjust the recipe however you prefer yours to be. Just be prepared to eat them quickly.
Ginger Chewies - original recipe shared with me by Jen found on Chow - makes 14
- 2 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon cloves
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), at room temperature
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup molasses
- About 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Heat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Sift the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and ginger, and cloves into a medium bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter and brown sugar, egg and molasses, and mix until blended and an even light brown color, about 1 minute. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing. Add the egg and molasses, and mix until blended and an even light brown color, about 1 minute. On low speed, add the flour mixture, mixing just to incorporate it.
- Spread the granulated sugar on a large piece of wax or parchment paper. Roll 1/4 cup of dough between the palms of your hands into a 2-inch ball, roll the ball in the sugar, and place on one of the prepared baking sheets. Continue making cookies, spacing them 2 inches apart.
- Bake the cookies one sheet at a time until the tops feel firm but they are still soft in the center and there are several large cracks on top, about 14 minutes. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then use a wide metal spatula to transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
- The cookies can be stored in a tightly covered container at room temperature for up to 4 days.
