soft gingersnaps

these cookies are in my top five. my sister heidi makes them every christmas for our annual cookie exchange. she even mailed a batch to me last december. she makes them bite sized, unbelievably soft and freezes them ahead of time to wrap up in brown paper packages for holiday gifts.

i was feeling homesick a few weeks ago, so i marched myself into the grocery store with molasses on my list. i made stacks of gingersnaps on my own for the first time, texting heidi for backup. the batch was not an exact replica of her ginger sugar drops, but still, they were delicious and all was right in the world.

HEIDI’S GINGERSNAPS

1 1/2 cup Shortening
2 cups Sugar
2 Eggs
1/2 cup Dark Molasses
1/2 tsp. Salt
4 tsp. Baking soda
2 tsp. Baking powder
2 tsp. Cloves
2 tsp. Cinnamon
2 tsp. Ginger
4 cups Flour

Cream together all the ingredients except the flour. When dough is creamy, gradually add the flour. Form dough into small balls and roll in sugar. Place on ungreased cookie sheets and flatten each cookie with your thumbprint.

Bake at 350° for 8-10 minutes. (The key is to under-bake them a little for truly soft cookies. If you want soft and small cookies, you'll want to only bake them for 7 minutes, so they are set but still soft when you take them out of the oven. I let them sit for a minute on the sheet and then carefully transfer them to the cooling rack for ten to fifteen minutes. Then i'll slip them into a ziplock storage bag or tight tupperware container to ensure soft cookies.)