Gingersnap Cookies

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 ½ teaspoons ground ginger
• 11 TBSP (slightly more than one stick) butter, softened
• 1 room temperature Lick Skillet Farm farm-fresh, pasture-raised egg
• ⅔ cup sugar
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ cup molasses
• OPTIONAL: turbinado sugar (less processed, this large crystal sugar has a subtle caramel flavor and is golden-brown in color)
• OPTIONAL: freshly-ground black pepper

Directions

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and ginger.

In a separate (we like to use a stand mixer) bowl, beat the butter and sugar together. Cream the mixture until soft and fluffy. Stir in the vanilla extract, molasses and egg, mixing well. Stir in the dry ingredients.

At this point, the dough will be too sticky to work with! Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Once the dough has chilled, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

There are several ways to achieve perfectly circular gingersnaps: 

1) On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough  into a 1” wide log and slice into ½” coins for a thin, crunchy cookie.

2) Using a tablespoon, scoop and roll the dough into 1 ½” balls in the palm of your hand for a soft-in-the-middle cookie.

If desired, the cookies may be sprinkled with or rolled in turbinado sugar. For a spicier cookie, a ½ teaspoon of freshly-ground black pepper may be included in the sugar sprinkles.

Bake until cookies have puffed and set, about 10 minutes. Let the cookies cool for 2 minutes and enjoy!