Eat your ginger cookies in Venice

In a recent mad-cookie-bake-off, I made these double ginger crackle cookies. As soon as they came out of the oven, I popped a warm, moist, thick cookie into my mouth, and I knew they would be one of my favorites out of the batch. These are not crisp ginger cookies, but rather mounds of intense ginger flavor: soft on the inside, and set on the outside with a sugary coating. The best part is that because of their rich thickness, one or two cookies will satisfy your sweet craving. Bake these for the holidays and indulge in moderation.

Ingredients (about 4 dozen cookies):

2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

2 3/4 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp kosher salt

3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 1/3 cups granulated sugar

1 large egg, at room temperature

1/4 cup organic molasses

3 tbsp finely chopped crystallized ginger

Directions:

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or foil.

In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, ground ginger, baking soda, and salt. In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and 1 cup of the sugar on medium speed until smoothly combined. Add the egg (after you’ve cracked it into a separate bowl), molasses (this can be messy), and crystallized ginger. Beat until fully combined.

Pour the remaining 1/3 sugar into a small bowl. Use a tablespoon measure or an ice cream scoop to scoop up dough and roll into 1-inch balls. Roll each ball in the sugar to coat and set them on the baking sheet 2 inches apart. If there is leftover sugar, pour a bit on top of all of the dough balls on the baking sheets.

Bake for 12-14 minutes until the bottoms are lightly browned. The cookie will feel soft inside if you gently press your finger on it, but the top will be dry. Cool the cookies on their sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a drying rack to cool completely. They will last in airtight containers for quite a few days.