Gingersnaps

Instructions

1. Step 1

   Sift 280 g all-purpose flour, 6 g baking soda, 9 g ground ginger, 3 g ground cinnamon, 1 g ground cloves and 2 g salt together into a bowl. Sifting them together spreads the small amounts of spice evenly through every cookie. The mixture is ready when it is an even beige color and smells clearly of ginger and cinnamon.

   Mark step 1 as done

2. Step 2

   Beat 115 g softened unsalted butter with 200 g granulated sugar on medium speed for about three minutes. Beating white sugar into butter creates lots of small air bubbles, which make the cookies rise and then fall into crisp, crackled tops. The mixture is ready when it is light, fluffy and pale.

   Suggested time: about 3 minutes.

   Mark step 2 as done

3. Step 3

   Add 50 g eggs to the butter mixture and beat well, then pour in 60 g molasses and keep beating until combined. Molasses brings a deep brown color, a slightly bitter caramel flavor and just enough moisture. The mixture is ready when it is smooth and an even café-au-lait brown.

   Mark step 3 as done

4. Step 4

   Add the spiced flour mixture to the bowl and mix on low speed or with a spatula just until no dry flour remains. Mixing only as much as needed keeps the cookies crisp rather than hard. The dough is ready when it is soft and pliable, a little sticky and evenly brown.

   Mark step 4 as done

5. Step 5

   Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate the dough for about thirty minutes. Cold dough is easier to roll into balls and won't spread too much in the oven. It is ready when it has firmed up and can be rolled into balls without sticking to your palms.

   Suggested time: about 30 minutes.

   Mark step 5 as done

6. Step 6

   Preheat the oven to 175°C and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. A steady temperature lets the cookies spread evenly and crackle beautifully. The oven is ready when it has been preheating for about fifteen minutes.

   Mark step 6 as done

7. Step 7

   Roll the dough into walnut-size balls, coat them evenly in 50 g granulated sugar and set them about five centimeters apart on the baking sheets. The sugar coating forms a crisp, sparkly shell and helps the tops crackle. The balls are ready when they are evenly round and fully coated in white sugar.

   Mark step 7 as done

8. Step 8

   Bake at 175°C for about 12 to 14 minutes, a few minutes longer than soft cookies, so they dry out and crisp up completely. The longer bake drives off all the moisture, which is the secret to their snap. They are done when they have flattened, the tops are clearly crackled and the edges have darkened.

   Bake at 175°C for about 12 to 14 minutes.

   Mark step 8 as done

9. Step 9

   Leave the cookies on the sheet for five minutes, then move them to a rack and let them cool for about fifteen minutes. They are still a little soft straight out of the oven and turn fully crisp as they cool. They are ready when they snap audibly when broken and the centers are no longer chewy.

   Suggested time: about 20 minutes.

   Mark step 9 as done