I love cookies. They are maybe my favorite dessert. Except for ice cream. Oh, and cookie dough ice cream = heaven. So, this time of year, I acutally let myself bake lots and lots of cookies for the holidays, and I give most of them away. I do freeze some of the dough to bake on Christmas Eve (for Santa, obviously), but most cookies go to friends, coworkers, or (they used to go to) relatives (when they lived closer).
My favorite cookie? Easy. It’s a gingerbread cookie. There is a bakery in my hometown of Cartersville, Georgia- and it is, to this day, my favorite bakery in, perhaps, the entire world. It’s Agan’s Bakery- and they make the BEST gingerbread cookies!! I have had the worst time replicating their cookies, but at long, long last- I’ve come very, very close. I finally have a gingerbread cookie recipe I am happy with!!!
I did reference a recipe for the structure of the cookies, but surely by now you must know I don’t ever follow recipes exactly…they’re more like suggestions. Well, this one’s no different! First, in almost every cookie recipe I made, I browned my butter. This concentrates the flavor of the butter without having to add extra butter. It’s very easy: melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat for about 5 minutes; it should start to turn a golden brown, and will smell slightly nutty. Let it cool to about room temp before mixing it in your dough, though (don’t wanna cook the egg too soon!).
These gingerbread cookies have such an incredible flavor (not to mention making the house smell divine!!). The secret to the incredible flavor: minced ginger, rather than ground!! I also used blackstrap molasses, since it’s what I have on hand, but I think it contributed more to the flavor of the cookies than regular molasses. The addition of nutmeg may or may not make any difference, but I also had that on hand and love nutmeg. Here’s the recipe I referenced, and follows my personal recipe with changes.
Gingerbread Cookies
yeild: a lot, like maybe 3 dozen