A new Old-Fashioned Ginger Cookie

I love ginger cookies.  I love spice cookies.  I love cookies!  My girls have recently started school, and as a lot of you out there know, you can break the bank buying stuff for lunch boxes.  I want them to eat good, nutritious food, but I also want them to be able to have treats.  Goodies make me happy, and they definitely make my wee ones happy too.  So in an effort to put less processed food into our girls, hubby and I came up with a list of things we could do/cook/bake/etc. to give them wholesome meals, with some fun thrown in for good measure.


On the top of the list was me--baking more muffins and cookies, and breads.  Sigh, so much is asked of me.  Just because I love baking things does it mean I want to do it all the time?  Well, yes, yes it does!  Now I have even more reason to.  I want to stock-pile cookies and muffins in the freezer so I always have some on hand.  Today I made a recipe out of a really great book,

The recipe is called Old-Fashioned Ginger Cookies, and the only difference between this recipe and the one I usually use is that there is lemon juice in it.  Lemon juice?  Really??  Yes, and it is really does take it up a notch. We all loved them, and they are going in the lunch boxes tomorrow.  I need to freeze the rest right away, to save myself from the extra calories.

Here is what I did:

 

Heat oven to 160C/325F.
Cream together 1/2 cup (115g) butter, at room temperature, with 233g grams sugar.  Or, conversely, 2/3 of 1 3/4 cup sugar (odd I know, that's why I stuck to grams, I refuse to do math if I don't have to). You use the other 1/3 of the sugar to roll the cookies in, if you are confused :)


Add 1 egg and mix in.  Stir in 4 tbs molasses (black treacle) and 1 tsp fresh lemon juice. Next, add: 2.5 cups sifted plain flour, 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) and 1 1/2tsp ginger, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, and 1/4 tsp cloves.  Mix together to form a soft dough.  

Roll dough into 3/4" balls and roll in sugar before placing on a greased cookie sheet.  Leave space for the cookies to spread.  Bake in oven for 12 minutes or until set.  Leave to cool for a few minutes, then move to a wire rack to cool completely.  Pour a cup of tea and enjoy!

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