Chewy Ginger Cookies

Let me start by saying that I am not a baker. I've never claimed to be. Baking isn't exactly my forte. However, I do enjoy eating baked goods.

A lot.

So, I continually attempt to bake. And consistently fail. I put forth a valiant effort, but no matter what I make, it never tastes the way it should. Give me an onion, garlic, a potato & salt and I can make something fantastic. But can I make a cookies? oh hellno.

I went through a Red Velvet Cake-from scratch phase several years ago and have since totally given up on that one. I don't speak of it much. The pictures have been destroyed. I pretend it never happened. Now if I want Red Velvet Cake I do the Betty Crocker thing. Betty's my buddy. We go way back.

I'm also a sucker for punishment. Which meant I, once again attempted to bake today. I love Joy The Baker's site. She has so many wonderful things and it's so inspiring. One of the things she posted was Chewy Ginger Cookies. And I couldn't resist. I love ginger. Really love ginger. So I gave it a shot.

And well, they don't taste, bad, per se. But I'm pretty sure they don't taste the way they would if Joy made them. Or any one else who is capable of baking.

But, here's the recipe anyway. I didn't change a thing. I just suck at baking.

2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1 large egg

1/4 cup molasses

about 1/2 cup turbinado sugar (Sugar in the Raw)

Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Sift the flour, baking soda and salt into a medium bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter, brown sugar and spices until smoothly blended, about 2 minutes. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing. Add the egg and molasses and mix until blended and an even light color, about 1 minute. On low speed, add the flour mixture, mixing just to incorporate it.

Interjection #1: I did this part by hand because I don't have a mixer. The last 2 that I had, my husband blew up making chocolate chip cookies. Smoke even came out of the last one. He's a very good baker & makes the best chocolate chip cookies. But since he only bakes in December & I hardly ever bake, we can't justify springing for a Kitchenaid and really, anything less just won't do. )

Spread the turbinado sugar into a small bowl. Roll 2 Tbs of dough between the palms of your hands into a ball

Interjection #2: The dough is very gooey. It helps if you pat your hands in flour before attempting to roll it into balls. This is something that might be obvious to anyone else, but I figured this out through trial and error.

Roll the ball in the sugar to coat it and place on the prepared baking sheet. Continue making cookies, spacing them about 2 inches apart.

Bake the cookies one sheet at a time until the tops feel firm but they are still soft in the center and there are several large cracks on top, about 12-14 minutes. Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for 5 minutes



This is the final product.

My daughter had one (and only one) and said they were ..good.. but she was making a face while eating it. And she didn't ask for a second one.

I really don't know what I did wrong. Other than trying to BAKE at AT ALL!

*sigh*

***edit***

ok so maybe they aren't that bad. several people have tried them now (my co-workers are my guinue pigs) and they all said they were good. one person said 'they're missing something..' but when i asked her what it was she thought they were missing she said she didn't know.