Ginger is one of those flavours that I can’t get enough of, and I like it to be strong. Especially since we’re coming up to the winter months, it can be warming, a bit spicy and tastes perfect crammed into a cookie.

I adapted this recipe from the November 2013 edition of House & Home magazine. I ran into a few troubles with this recipe, and was actually disappointed at first because my final result was not as smooth or dark as the cookie in the photo.

Firstly, the crystallized ginger they called for was for “rolling”, but after one or two cookies I quickly learned that it was too sticky and thick to roll anything in. It clumped together and looked ugly; your best bet is mixing it into the dough. Crystallized ginger is also referred to as candied ginger, which can be found in most bulk food stores and supermarkets.

Secondly, the colour was not as dark and rich as it was supposed to be, and I never quite figured out why. You’ll see the colour of my cookies in the photos below—they taste great and have a light brown colour in the end.

Ingredients

Makes 25-30 cookies

• 2 ¼ cups all purpose flour
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 ½ tsp. ground ginger
• ½ tsp. ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp. ground allspice
• ½ tsp. ground pepper
• ½ tsp. salt
• ¾ cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 tsp. finely grated fresh ginger
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• ¼ cup fancy molasses
• ¼ cup finely diced crystallized (a.k.a. candied) ginger
• Coarse turbinado sugar, for rolling

Method

In a medium-sized bowl, mix flour and baking soda. Stir in spices and salt until well combined.

In a separate bowl with electric beaters, mix together butter, brown sugar and grated ginger until smooth. Reduce speed to low. Add egg, then molasses. Gradually add dry ingredients until a smooth and thick batter has formed. Mix in crystallized ginger.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Line 2 baking sheets with silicon baking mats or parchment paper. Form roughly 2 tbsp. of dough into balls—roll balls in turbinado sugar and place on baking sheet, leaving a small amount of space between each ball. Flatten with the palm of your hand or the bottom of a glass. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes until lightly browned. Cool on wire racks until ready to eat, or to store away for later.