Ginger ::Snap!:: Cookies

I love long weekends! Gives me time to do some baking (and some reading) that I usually don't get to without a lot of planning on regular weekends. On Saturday, I asked Maggie if she'd rather make ginger cookies or fig newtons, which she'd bring as dessert at school*. She's never had either one. She chose ginger cookies. (*Maggie delighted in bringing a homemade dessert on Thursday, telling me at least twice and Eric once how she told her lunch buddies about it. I now have a reputation to live up to!)

Years ago (okay, no more than 3 I guess), my sister-in-law Ann Marie gave us some fabulous ginger snap cookies that were thick, soft, and filled with candied ginger. It's the first time I ever liked candied ginger. We never found the recipe back, but I bought some ginger last winter with the intent of making some ginger cookies. So, about 8 months later, I finally did. I found a recipe for Ginger Spice Cookies at Epicurious. My changes are using butter instead of shortening, using a mix of dark molasses (its all I ever get) and honey (because only had a little molasses left and didn't realize I had some in the pantry), and finely chopping the ginger. I made them about 1" diameter, ending up with about 45 cookies. We also changed the name, as I had great fun getting Nutmeg to snap instead of saying the word. So they are Ginger ::snap!:: Cookies.

Nutmeg helped make these, including mixing the dough and rolling them in sugar. It's really nice to have a helped when cookies are rolled in sugar--my hands stayed in the dough and hers in the sugar.

We all enjoy them! Nutmeg says they are the bestest cookie she has ever eaten, hence the photo of her in the middle of saying so. I'm a little surprised as they are very gingery, and she doesn't usually like spicy things. I think I should take them along on the next rollercoaster or boat ride. They might help my motion sickness. (Ginger was the only thing Myth Busters found to actually setting motion sickness.)