So, don't read anything that I've written here, just go bake these cookies! These are delicious. They are just what you imagine perfect, crisp ginger snaps to be. These cookies have an interesting history. Over 100 years ago, it was very important for high society women to know how to make these. They would be offered to visitors.
The cookies are very thin, hence the name. They are about the size and thickness of a business card. I was a bit anxious about how these cookies would turn out. The dough is very thin, and I found it difficult to spread over the cookie sheet. When I took them out of the oven, I thought that the outside edges were burnt, but they tasted fine. I will be making these cookies again and again.
Fairy Gingerbread Cookies
from Cooks Country March 2011
Makes 5 dozen cookies
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons
All-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
9 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
4 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup whole milk, room temperature
1. Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 325 degrees. Spray 2 cookie sheets (or inverted baking sheets) with cooking spray and cover each with 15 by 12-inch sheet parchment paper. Heat ground ginger in small skillet over medium heat until fragrant, about 1 minute. Combine flour, toasted ginger, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl.
2. With electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add fresh ginger and vanilla and mix until incorporated. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with 2 additions of milk.
3. Evenly spread 3/4 cup batter to cover parchment on each prepared cookie sheet (batter will be very thin). Bake until deep golden brown, 16 to 20 minutes, switching and rotating sheets halfway through baking. Immediately score cookies into 3 by 2-inch rectangles (you can use a pizza cutter). Cool completely, about 20 minutes. Using tip of paring knife, separate cookies along score mark. Serve. (Cookies can be stored in airtight container at room temperature for 3 days.)
Hi there! I saw these in a sort of "best of the year to come" in Jan 2012, was fascinated... My first batch came out great in the thin and crispy dept, but were much darker than I was expecting. Most versions of this recipe that I've found on-line are darker and/or thicker than the original pictures, yours are a bit darker but not nearly as much as some. And I DID use LIGHT brown sugar. My raw batter was definitely the same color as yours, but maybe?: I mixed by hand and definitely did not cream butter & sugar for 2 minutes, just until thoroughly & completely combined. Maybe that made a difference??? Did you really bake at 325? Did you really bake for as long as the recipe says? Do you have any idea why other attempts brown so much? Going to take some practice with the spreading, too, although that worked fairly well, I had lots of really thin outside edges... Thanks in advance for any response, esp. at this late date, 8-)
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