Remember this delightful crisp with pears and cranberries? Or this slightly sweet bread with pumpkin and whole grains? Molasses adds a distinct aroma and subtle sweetness to anything it goes into, an aroma that brings me back to frosting-smeared cookies and gumdrops from childhood gingerbread houses and a sweetness that makes the line of my mouth curve upward with satisfaction.
What you're about to read is the very best gingerbread cookie recipe I've ever found. I've tried it with molasses + sugar substitutes, but the result was a thick, crispy cookie--and not crispy in a good way. The perfect cookie, for me, is crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside. The perfect cookie is slowly savored with a glass of milk. The perfect cookie, in this case, includes regular old brown sugar, is cooked for a very precise amount of time to give it a crispy-chewy balance, and focuses on that wonderful molasses flavor.
Bright-eyed Tip: This recipe makes about 15 large cookies. Indulge in half a cookie at a time, savoring the strong yet satisfying flavors. These cookies pair well with a bowl of yogurt and fruit. Use the remaining cookies for a slightly sweet topping to fruit crisp or a holiday gift (wrap each cookie in plastic wrap, tie with a holiday bow in a cellophane bag, leave as a surprise on a neighbor's doorstep).
Day 2: The Barefoot Contessa's Ultimate Ginger Cookies
from The Barefoot Contessa at Home
Makes 16 cookies
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed {demerara doesn’t work well}
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup unsulfured molasses
1 extra-large egg, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups chopped crystallized ginger (a few generous dashes of ground ginger work well in a pinch)
granulated sugar, for rolling the cookies (optional)
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two sheet pans with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, and salt, and then combine the mixture with your hands. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the brown sugar, oil, and molasses on medium speed for five minutes. Turn the mixer to low speed, add the egg, and beat for one minute. Scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula and beat for 1 more minute. With the mixer still on low, slowly add the dry ingredients to the bowl and mix on medium speed for two minutes. Add the crystallized ginger and mix until combined.
Scoop the dough with 2 spoons or a small ice cream scoop. With your hands, roll each cookie into a 1 3/4-inch ball and then flatten them lightly with your fingers. Press both sides of each cookie in granulated sugar (if you want to) and place them on the sheet pans. Bake for exactly eleven* minutes. The cookies will be crackled on the top and soft inside. Let the cookies cool on the sheets for one to two minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
*The Barefoot Contessa says thirteen minutes, but mine were done in eleven. You may need to experiment a bit with your oven before you get the perfect batch; if your oven usually runs hot like mine does, shoot for around eleven minutes. Any crispy leftovers are perfect in my pear-cranberry gingerbread crisp!