The Best Cookies Ever!

That’s what my son said last night, after tasting the product of some of my Christmas baking.  “Mom, these are the best cookies EVER!”  It’s rare that I receive such a high culinary compliment from my son.

And then I tasted the cookies.  He was right!  They were really good!  So I thought I’d share my adaptation of a Gingersnap recipe with you.

I started out with this recipe for Soft Gingersnaps.  Originally, the only change I was going to make was to omit the clove, since I don’t like the taste of clove.  But I was working quickly and had another cookie recipe laying out, and I accidentally added the 2 teaspoons of vanilla that were called for in the other cookie recipe.  In the end, this is what I ended up with.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups butter (no substitutes), softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1/2 cup molasses
• 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• Additional sugar

Directions

1. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla and molasses. Combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, salt and nutmeg; gradually add to creamed mixture. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until dough is easy to handle.
2. Roll into 1-in. balls; roll in sugar. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees F for 8-12 minutes or until puffy and lightly browned. Cool for 1 minute before removing to wire racks.

I baked them for about 11 minutes, and they came out perfectly!  One day later, they are so soft and chewy and have the perfect blend of sweetness and spice!

This is one for my recipe keeper file!  Enjoy!