Favorite Christmas Cookies

This recipe was first given to me by my grandma, in her hand writing.  The card still rests in my recipe box with all of the other memories she gave me.  The smell of them baking always brings the feel of how soft a hug was from her. How her arms would wrap around me with my face pressed against her softness. She spent a lot of time in the kitchen, and so most of my memories are of her are either from that one room, or of her playing cards with the rest of us after dinner. Her wiping the floor with the rest of us time and again.

As for the recipe and the baking, you can also use this one to make bars – simply spread the dough evenly in a greased 9- x 13-inch pan and bake at 350° for around 30 to 40 minutes.  We usually make bar cookies on the boat, but I’ll make these for the crew if they roll them and dust them with sugar.  Why bar cookies?  Because in a wood-fired oven there are so many hot spots that they burn in a heartbeat – can’t even get a sentence in before I have to turn them. But for the crew, I’ll stand guard and make sure to pull them at just the right time.

This recipe is one of many in the At Home, At Sea cookbook available in the online store.

Grandma’s Ginger Cookies
1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1/4 cup molasses
1/4 cup minced crystallized ginger
1/4 teaspoon table salt
2 1/4  cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon powdered ginger
Granulated sugar as needed

Preheat the oven to 375°. In a large bowl, mix together the butter, brown sugar, egg, molasses, and crystallized ginger.  Mix in the remaining ingredients.  Roll the dough into 1-inch balls, roll them in the sugar, then place them on an ungreased cookie pan. Bake for 10 minutes; cool on a rack.

Makes 2 dozen

Annie
If your grandma is still living, call her up today and tell her you love her