Gingersnap Cookies

In honor of Ginger, the 2023 Herb of the Year, Faith K. shared her favorite gingersnap recipe. Faith says, “This is a recipe from Penzeys that I make every fall and Christmas.

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup vegetable shortening
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/4 cup molasses
1 tsp ginger, powdered
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
1/3 cup granulated sugar (to roll dough in)

Directions:

Sift flour, baking soda and salt together and set aside.  In a large mixing bowl, beat shortening and sugar until well blended.  Beat in egg, molasses, ginger, cinnamon and cloves.  Add the flour mixture in two parts, blending well. Shape the dough into a ball and refrigerate overnight or at least two hours.  
Preheat the oven to 350.  Shape dough into 1 inch balls.  Roll the balls thoroughly in sugar, place on ungreased cookie trays.  The cookies spread out during baking, so don’t crowd them.  Bake 15 minutes.  Cool for a minute, then remove from cookie sheets.  Store in an airtight container for crispy cookies, or in a regular cookie jar for chewy cookies.  They freeze well.

Yield:  50 to 60 cookies