Ginger Cookies
This is one of the posts recovered after a botched website move in 2013. It was originally written and published on December 10, 2012.
The big family Christmas party was yesterday, and the beloved task of creating something yummy to package up and give away was at hand.I had been vacillating between making the (gold) standard old-fashioned buttermilk sugar cookies I usually do (a still-beloved remembrance of childhood Christmases), or something different. I opted for different.I love ginger.Starbucks gingerbread latte? Yum.I haven't met a gingerbread man I didn't like. (I'm head first. How about you?)Gingerbread cake? Yes, please.So, trying my hand at ginger cookies was hardly a stretch.I found a promising recipe and immediately began to deconstruct it. I wanted it to be healthy as well as tasty.The result looks nothing like the picture in the originating recipe, and yet the taste and texture are awesome, even if I do say so myself.
Healthy Ginger Cookies
Ingredients
???? 1 1/8 cup whole wheat flour???? 1 1/8 cup all-purpose unbleached flour???? 2 teaspoons ground ginger???? 1 teaspoon baking soda???? 1 teaspoon baking powder???? 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon???? 1/2 teaspoon ground clove???? 1/4 teaspoon salt???? 3/4 cup pumpkin puree???? 2/3 cup organic sugar???? 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce???? 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce (replaces egg)???? 1 tablespoon water???? 1/4 cup molasses
Here's the method:
???? Preheat oven to 350 degrees.???? Sift flour through salt together into a mixing bowl.???? Add remaining ingredients and stir until combined.???? Spritz cookie sheets with cooking spray.???? A heaping teaspoonful at a time, scoop out dough and roll into a ball.???? Place balls approximately 1 1/2 inches apart on sheets (I was able to get 15 cookies on a large sheet), then use a fork to flatten the balls slightly.???? Bake for 15 minutes, or until a finger test does not leave an impression.???? Remove to cooling racks.???? Eat! Store remaining cookies in an airtight container.
These cookies received multiple thumbs-up from family over the past 18 hours, so this recipe goes on the make-again list, for sure.
