Ginger Cookies, Cemetery

By MarieR

These easy-to-bake cookies have just the right amount of spice.
Southern Living NOVEMBER 2014, Page 12

Ingredients

• Yield: Makes 5 dozen
• Hands-on: 30 Minutes
• Total: 3 Hours, 20 Minutes
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon table salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 4 tablespoons molasses
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup Demerara sugar**
• Parchment paper

Details

Servings 5
Preparation time 30mins
Cooking time 110mins

Preparation

Step 1

1. Stir together first 6 ingredients.

2. Beat butter and granulated sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer 2 to 3 minutes or until creamy. Add molasses and egg, beating until well blended. Gradually add flour mixture, beating just until blended after each addition. Cover and chill 2 to 4 hours.

3. Preheat oven to 325°. Shape dough into 1-inch balls; roll in Demerara** sugar to coat. Place balls 2 inches apart on 2 parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Flatten balls slightly with bottom of a glass.

4. Bake at 325°, in batches, for 12 to 15 minutes. Cool on baking sheets 2 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire racks, and cool 10 minutes.

**Demerara is a light brown, partially refined, sugar produced from the first crystallization during processing cane juice into sugar crystals (this process is similar to what happens with naturally evaporated cane juice). Unlike brown sugar, which has the added molasses flavor, Demerara has a natural caramel-like flavor that hasn’t been refined out. This lends warm caramel notes to whatever you add the sugar. Also, Demerara sugar is also referred to as Turbinado sugar in many markets, which has more to do with how the sugar is processed in turbines, than where it originates.