Merry Christmas Ginger Cookie

Call me old-fashioned, but there is nothing like a good ginger cookie at Christmas time.  Maybe its an acquired taste that comes with adulthood, because I don't remember ever stealing the spice/ginger treats off the cookie tray when I was little.  My how things change.  I'm pretty sure it has something to do with a good recipe though, if I am pressed for a reason.  Chewy, spicy, molasses-y (is this a word?)......this never quite described the ginger "snaps" that I remember as a child.  It was a certain cookie from a special lady that changed all of that.

My sister's mother-in-law is responsible.  The story goes that when she was a young bride, her and her girlfriends got together to test recipes and come up with the "ultimate" molasses cookie.  They wanted one that bent when you torqued it.  One that oozed spicy undertones, and had that gooey sweetness from dark molasses.  Try them they did, and finally settled on the perfect one, a molasses crinkle.  Generously, that recipe passed into my sister's hands, and as the professional cookie baker in our family, she has dutifully pumped out dozens of these little darlings at holiday time.  Yes, they are often the first to be grabbed off the tray, and sometimes by the handfuls.

But, Christmas only comes around once a year, and there are those days when you, like me, may need a fix.  In our fair city, I have found two decent replicas.  I even introduced my sister to them in order to get her take on  them.....they passed the test.  One is a fresh baked vegan variety from our local "Dozen" cupcake shop.  The other is a packaged version, found only at a natural foods store, and often not in stock.   Happening on this recipe in the December 2009 issue of Bon Appetit made me think about that cookie testing that happened years ago, and made me wonder if these would compare with the Mrs. Branby's now famous molasses crinkle.  I am happy to report that yes, it does.  Merry Christmas, readers!

Triple Ginger Cookie

2 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour

1/2 cup minced crystallized ginger

2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup butter-softened

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 large egg, room temp

1/4 cup molasses

1 1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger

1 1/2 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/3 cup raw cane sugar (rough estimate)

Preheat oven to 350.  Line 2 baking sheets with parchment.  Combine dry ingredients, including crystallized ginger, in medium bowl.  Using a mixer, add butter.  Beat until creamy and light, about 2 minutes.  Add brown sugar, and beat on medium high about 3 minutes.  Add egg, molasses, and spices, beat to blend.  Add flour mixture in 2 additions, mixing just enough to incorporate.

Roll into balls, 1-2" in diameter, depending on size desired.  Roll in raw sugar and place on parchment sheet, about 2" apart.  Bake until edges are set, but centers are still soft, checking after 10 minutes.  Remove from cookie sheet to cool.

Shagbark Hickory Syrup for Supper

I am a lucky girl.  Arriving home late and hungry tonight, a quick fix simple supper was in order.  Looking in the frig, I happened on ham steak.  This could do the trick.  A quick saute, and a simple glaze was all it would take.  With a little further digging, now in the dark corners of a pantry cupboard, a paper bag contained the makings for a great side dish.  Tiny organic sweet potatoes were there languishing, waiting for me to finally remember having purchased them at one of the last farmer's markets of the season.  Now this would be the perfect supper.  But, to make things even better, I recalled recently receiving a great birthday gift from Indiana:  a big bottle of Shagbark Hickory Syrup.  A fantastic meal plan quickly materialized:  make a ham glaze with the shagbark syrup, and roast up those baby sweets with some rosemary in the oven.  What a lucky, lucky girl.

The Shagbark Syrup deserves a little explanation.  As a school project this year, my students and I collected maple sap and turned it into maple syrup.  The syrup we made was fantastic, and the whole project was a lot of fun.  We all learned a great deal about trees and syrup, and are avid real maple syrup fans!  So, when I read about a couple in Indiana who are making syrup from the bark of a hickory tree, I was very interested.  Turns out, they do not use tree sap, but instead extract flavor from the bark, and then make a syrup from that extract.  According to their website, famous chefs have found great ways to use the stuff, and swear by it's versatility.   Lucky for me, my thoughtful friend found it at an Indianapolis farmer's market, and sent it my way.  Tonight was it's debut.

As for the baby sweets, they came from an organic farmer in Ohio.  These were the last of the season, and of a number of different varieties. He talked me into these odds and ends, describing their versatility and awesome flavor.  So, weeks later,  I scrubbed them up, but kept the skins on, and chunked them into equal sized pieces.  These I coated in olive oil, salt, pepper and rosemary.  They went into a 375 degree oven for about 40 minutes, and came out sweet, toasty and delicious, just as he promised.  A great pairing with the locally smoked, pan fried, shagbark hickory-glazed ham.  A quick, simple supper indeed.

Shagbark Hickory-Glazed Ham Slices


1 Ham Steak - pan fried til golden brown


1 T dijon mustard
2 T apple cider vinegar
3 T shagbark hickory syrup (real maple syrup can be substituted)

Combine glaze ingredients.  Pour over cooked ham slice and allow to cook for 2-3 minutes, turning the ham occasionally to glaze evenly.