Three Ginger Cookies

Three Ginger Cookies

Probably my favorite holiday treat, these are made using fresh ginger, candied ginger and powdered ginger. They are soft, chewy and gingerific!

Ingredients:

• 3 sticks butter (1 1/2c), softened
• 1 1/2c brown sugar
• 1/2c molasses
• 2 eggs
• 4 1/2c flour
• 4tsp ground ginger
• 4tsp baking soda
• 1tsp salt
• 1TB minced fresh ginger root (OR ginger juice)
• 1c diced crystallized ("candied") ginger

Instructions:
1. First, prep your ginger. The candied/crystallized ginger is the secret of this recipe. Chop it into small chunks.

2. You'll also need 1 TB of very finely minced fresh ginger root. (OR, if you don't have that, you can substitute an equal amount of "ginger juice")

3. Cream butter and sugar together. Beat in molasses, then the egg.

4. In a separate bowl mix flour, ground ginger, baking soda and salt. Add bit by bit to the butter mixture, mixing as you go.

5. Add the fresh and crystallized ginger and stir until evenly mixed.

6. Chill the batter at least 2 hours or overnight. (OR, if you're in a hurry, chill for 1 hour in the freezer or out in the snow.)

7. Preheat oven to 350°. Form dough into small balls approximately 1 inch in diameter.

8. Bake for 10 minutes on a lightly greased cookie sheet. The cookies will be VERY soft when you take them out of the oven but the bottoms should be golden brown (see below).

9. Immediately remove them from the cookie sheet and place on wire racks to cool.

Enjoy!