Tutorial Tuesday: Disappearing Ginger Cookies

Take note: If you only decide to make one of my tutorials THIS TUTORIAL IS THE ONE YOU MUST MAKE! Seriously, your friends, family, and complete strangers will thank you for making this recipe and then they'll ask you to make it again (and again and again).

okay. I'm off my little soapbox. But seriously...you need to make these "Disappearing" Ginger Cookies. And this is what you need:

4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour


2 teaspoons baking soda

4 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cloves (feel free to make it rounded for extra spice! Delicious!)

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon


1/4 teaspoon salt


1 1/2 cups shortening (ie Crisco)


2 cups sugar


2 eggs


1/2 cup molasses


3/4 cups coarse sugar or decorating sugar (granulated sugar can be used as a substitute and this is what i almost always use!)

1) I am not a huge fan of shortening but man oh man are these cookies worth it. So don't be afraid to dive on in and just start using it.

Measure the shortening (getting all the bubbles out of the measuring cup--you want all the shortening this recipe calls for!)

2) Put the shortening and sugar in a mixer and allow it to whip until fluffy

You want it to look like this when it is done:

3) While that is whipping into a fine fluff, measure out your dry ingredients, starting with the flour

and then adding the spices, salt, etc.

4) Thoroughly combine those dry ingredients

5) now that you've beaten your shortening and sugar and combined your dry ingredients, ADD the eggs and mix well.

6) then add the molasses. I use the same measuring cup as the cup I used for my shortening--that way the molasses slides out of the measuring cup a little more easily and then you get more molasses goodness in the cookies.

7) Blend well, until it looks like this:

8) Now it is time to combine the flour mixture to the molasses goo. Do this SLOWLY, ensuring that the flour is mixed in well before you decide to add more flour...

9) Your dough should now look like this:

10) Once your dough is ready, chill it. This step is not a necessity but I've found that the cookies taste better after they've chilled overnight. They still taste GREAT if you don't follow this step so don't worry. (PS Don't mind my glucose drink or the rest of the fridge!)

11) When you are ready to make the cookies, keep in mind taht these cookies are designed to be BIG...some might even say GIANT. So break out your 2 tbl scoop (I use a coffee ground scooper)


12) Roll the dough into a ball and then place it in the bowl of coarse/decorative/granulated sugar

and roll it around until completely covered:

13) Space evenly on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 12-14 minutes. If you like chewy cookies (like J does) then make sure that you do not bake for any longer than that--these cookies will firm up after they come out of the oven.

14) Don't forget to take a picture of your finished product...we almost forgot until we got to the last cookie!

Enjoy! These cookies will disappear before you know it!