Anyone who knows me well, knows that ginger snaps are by far my biggest weakness when it comes to sweets.  The thought of making the perfect ginger snap always intimidated me…working with molasses and ginger in order to formulate a salty, sweet, crunchy, and soft ginger snap seemed impossible. This weekend I put my fears aside and dug in…shockingly these ginger snaps have the perfect combination of salty, sweet, crunchy, and soft.

Triple Ginger Cookies Adapted from Bon Appetit, December 2009

Ingredients:

1. 2-1/2 cups all purpose flour
2. 1/3 cup minced crystallized ginger
3. 2 tsp baking soda
4. 1/4 tsp salt
5. 3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp
6. 1 cup (packed) light brown sugar
7. 1 large egg, room temp
8. 1/4 cup blackstrap molasses
9. 1-1/2 tsp finely grated fresh peeled ginger
10. 1-1/2 tsp ground ginger
11. 1 tsp ground cinnamon
12. 1/2 tsp ground cloves
13. 1/2 cup turbinado sugar (for rolling cookies in)

Method:

1. Position 1 rack in top third of oven, 1 rack in bottom third; preheat to 350*.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Whisk together flour, crystallized ginger, baking soda and 1/4 tsp salt in a medium bowl.
3. Using an electric mixer, beat butter until creamy and light in a separate bowl for about 2 minutes.  Gradually add brown sugar and beat on medium-high speed until creamy, about 3 minutes.  Add egg, molasses, fresh ginger, ground ginger, cinnamon and cloves.  Beat to blend.
4. Add flour mixture to wet mixture in two additions, beating on low speed just to blend between additions.
5. Place 1/2 cup of turbinado sugar in small bowl.  Measure 1 tbsp of dough (a 1-tbsp ice cream scoop works really well) and roll into a ball between palms of hands.  Roll dough in sugar and place on baking sheet.  Repeat with remaining cookie dough, spacing cookies 1-1/2 to 2-inches apart.
6. Bake cookies until surfaces crack and cookies are firm around edges but still slightly soft in center, about 15 minutes.  Cool completely on sheets on rack.