Gingersnaps

March 10, 2015

I think it’s true that with time one develops preferences–preferences for texture, taste, sweetness, amongst other things. What is remarkable about this cookie is its simple and direct flavour profile. The ingredients are your everyday pantry items: butter, golden syrup, eggs, flour, leavening and ginger. No cinnamon or nutmeg to complicate things. Just ginger. That’s all. The result is an uncommonly fresh, crisp and sparkly flavour and texture. It’s so unusual that I would choose the same words to describe both sides of the experience, but I have no choice! This cookie hits the mark in 3D. It ROCKS!

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Ingredients

Volume Grams Ounces

Instructions

MELT THE BUTTER WITH THE GOLDEN SYRUP

I melted the butter and golden syrup and let it cool, and let it cool, and let it cool. I really wanted the butter and sugar to thicken slightly and to feel cool to the touch, so I put it in the refrigerator for 5 minute intervals until it was creamy and thick. The flavour of these two ingredients together sets the tone for this cookie.

MIX THE DRY COOKIE INGREDIENTS

I didn’t use castor sugar, but instead took Rose up on her suggestion to blend granulated sugar and light brown sugar. I also took note that the only spice in this cookie is ground ginger. No other spices to enhance (complicate) the ginger.

MAKE THE COOKIE DOUGH

I don’t know if any of you do this, but I am a raw dough taster. I taste all the time, and this dough tasted fresh and clean: bright ginger, and golden sweet butter was all I could taste. Love it so far.

ROLL THE COOKIE DOUGH INTO BALLS

This was a no pressure dough because the butter had been melted and it didn’t have to be kept cold while working with it. And I know now that if Rose says to space the unbaked cookies 2 inches apart, then I do as I’m instructed. I’ve learned my lesson with the Coffee Crisps!

BAKE THE COOKIES

Standard stuff here, except I took the cookie’s temperature. I felt so silly with the thermometer in my hand, poking the tender cookie with the probe. Honestly, it was a humiliating experience for both me and the cookie.

Crispy interior. Gingersnaps, The Finer Cookie.

COOLING (TASTING) THE COOKIES

The end result is a chewy, crispy, gingery experience. The heat lingers on the palate for quite a while, and it is nothing but enjoyable in both texture and taste. Without question in my mind, or anyone else’s for that matter, this is a winner of a cookie!

Disclaimer: As previously noted, no recipes are shared in my Baking Bible posts, due to publishing restrictions enforced by the publisher of Rose Levy Beranbaum’s The Baking Bible. But, you can support me and her by purchasing the book.
NOTE ON THE PHOTOGRAPHY: This final shot is a Photoshop miracle or a “simple” montage of five photographs. We started with the idea of creating a cookie comet whizzing across the white countertop, but the cookies wouldn’t cooperate, so we changed course and shot them like this. The kitchen, turned photo studio, was crowded with three flash heads, a honeycomb snoot to create the hard shadow, white seamless paper, clamps, stands, and lots of coffee and music because it was 7am. My neighbours must have thought we were being abducted by aliens because every time the flash heads went off, the windows whited out. The final image looks like an alien landscape inhabited by Gingersnaps. We were just fooling around.