Giant Ginger Cookies
C is for cookie. That's good enough for me.
Last week I showed you how to make Thin Mint Rip-offs, aka the "Easiest Christmas Cookies Ever". Now I'll share our family's other must-bake holiday cookie: Giant Ginger Cookies.
Oh, man.
It is impossible to convey just how incredibly amazing these cookies are. Slightly crusty on the outside, soft and chewy and gingery on the inside. I remember a time years ago when I delivered a bag of these to my friend Angie...after I got home, I walked in the door as the phone was ringing. It was Angie, declaring her immediate and desperate need for the recipe. Now she makes them every Christmas too, and she kindly credits me. But it's not like I invented the recipe; if memory serves, I think the credit goes to Better Homes & Gardens, circa 1998.
Here are the ingredients:
Of course you don't need a KitchenAid mixer! But if you're debating pulling yours out of the cupboard vs. just using your electric hand mixer, I'd say it's worth it. The dough is very thick. The recipe tells you to abandon your electric mixer at the very end and finish stirring the dough with a wooden spoon. I'd follow that advice if you're using a hand mixer. Otherwise, you could burn out the motor on your mixer while you still have a lot of holiday baking left to do, and you'll be left cursing your careless disregard of the instructions. Ask me how I know.
First, preheat the oven to 350F.
Put the all-purpose flour in a medium bowl. To that you'll add baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and ginger.
It helps to put the spices in separate mounds around the bowl if you can't count to four without losing track. Ahem.
Stir together with a whisk and put it aside. In a separate bowl, cream the shortening, then add the sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs and molasses and beat well. You probably already know this tip, but it helps if you spray your measuring cup with cooking spray before pouring in the molasses.
Add half the flour mixture and combine.
Wheeee!! Go, KitchenAid, Go!
Then stir in the remaining flour mixture with a wooden spoon. Your dough will look like this. Yumminess.
Pour some sugar into a shallow bowl. Using a 1/4-cup ice cream scoop, shape the dough into 2-inch balls. I know. "Giant" Ginger Cookies isn't just a catchy name. But go with it. It's Christmas! Grab that ice cream scoop:
Your trusty scooper. It's not just for ice cream anymore.
Then put the cookie into the shallow bowl and roll it around until it's coated with sugar. Like this:
before...
after!
Place them on the cookie sheet about 2 1/2 inches apart. This means you probably won't fit more than six on a cookie sheet. It's okay, roll with it. Like this:
Get psyched. You are minutes away from ginger cookie heaven.
Bake in the preheated 350F oven for 12-14 minutes. DO NOT OVER BAKE!! If you over bake them, they won't be chewy and you'll have giant ginger snaps. No bueno.
When you pull them out of the oven, you'll have this:
ooh, baby.
Let cool on the cookie sheets for 2 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Normally I'd advise you to refrain from eating the whole batch, but there's no need. Each one of these is like a meal. You could even say they are giant.
Behold! It is a thing of beauty.
If you are the type to give away cookies as gifts, you can easily package them up. You can pile them in a tin or a cardboard cookie box, but I personally like the way they they looked stacked in clear plastic. Because each of these are so giant, you can give away 6 or 7 and it's plenty. The recipe makes 20-24, so that leaves enough left over for you to enjoy. You're welcome.
Around the holidays, I'll take a day and make a ton of these to give away, mostly as a "thank you" to the important people in Alex's life. I'll package them up and put them in a row and admire them in all their gingery glory:
And don't be surprised if people start calling and begging for the recipe.
*For an easy printable of the recipe, click here: <Giant Ginger Cookies>
GIANT GINGER COOKIES
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking soda
4 tsp. ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups shortening
2 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup molasses
3/4 - 1 cup granulated or coarse sugar
Preheat oven to 350F.
In a medium mixing bowl, stif together the flour, ginger, soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, beat shortening until softened. Gradually add the 2 cups granulated sugar; beat until fluffy. Add eggs and molasses; beat well. Add half of the flour mixture; beat until well combined. Stir remaining flour in with a wooden spoon.
Using a ¼-cup ice cream scoop, shape dough into 2-inch balls. Roll in the coarse or granulated sugar. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet about 2 ½ inches apart.
Bake in the preheated oven for 12 to 14 minutes or until cookies are light brown and puffed. (Do not overbake or cookies will not be chewy!)
Let stand for 2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Cool. Makes 20-25 four-inch cookies.
