The Perfect Ginger Snap Cookies (and Mushroom Soup)

I originally started this post last night to be exclusively about the mushroom soup but then I got distracted. Then today, I made the most amazing ginger snap cookies and they overshadowed the soup by a lot, so this is now about cookies, with a side note about the soup.

The recipe I used for the cookies is the same one I used in my last ginger snap cookie post (which I'm too lazy to link to, sorry). The recipe is from David Lebovitz's blog. This time, though, I tweaked it to make it a little healthier.

I was not expecting these to come out as amazingly as they did. I had been thinking I was making it a little healthier and cutting corners, so I was expecting the cookies to be decent, but nothing special. When I finally bit into one of these perfect, pillowy cookies, I was blown away by the subtle spice, the crunchy "crust" and the chewy, delicious center. These are the perfect cookies. Make them. Now.



Perfect Ginger Snap Cookies (adapted from davidlebovitz.com)

Ingredients

• 2 C Whole Wheat Flour
• 1½ teaspoons baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1½ teaspoons ground ginger
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 C + 3 Tbsp Canola Oil
• 2/3 C Sugar
• 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1/4 C Mild Flavored Molasses
• 1 Large Egg, at room temperature
• Extra sugar for rolling.
  

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
   
2. Combine the dry ingredients (all except the sugar) in a bowl (or in a tupperware container, and shake)
3. In a separate bowl, mix the sugar and oil until fully combined.
4. Mix in the vanilla, molasses, and the egg.
5. Add in the dry ingredients and mix until all of the flour is wet.
6. With your hands (I recommend food gloves) finish mixing the dough.
7. Form the dough into 1" balls and roll them in sugar, then place them on the baking sheet about an inch apart.
8. Bake for about 11 minutes, until they are puffy and cracked on top.
9. Let them sit for 5 minutes before removing them to a cooling rack. These are VERY crumbly fresh out of the oven. They will fall apart if you try to move them too soon.
   

So that's the amazing cookies. Now on to the soup. The soup is very simple and pretty tasty. It's also not too bad for you. The recipe can be found here. I didn't change anything. It was quite delicious.

Before I go, I just wanted to share with you the belated birthday present my mother got me. She said she saw them in the train station and knew I'd love them.



My mother knows me so well. :)