Nancy Frantz
- 3/4 cup butter
- 1/4 cup molasses
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoons ground cardamom
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1/2 cup chopped candied or crystallized ginger
- Turbinado (raw) sugar for rolling
- Melt the butter in a medium saucepan, stir in the molasses and vanilla and let cool. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking soda, all the spices, pepper and salt.
- Add the beaten egg to the cooled butter mixture. Fold into the bowl with the bowl with the flour and the spices and add the candied ginger. Cover and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes to make the dough firm (not really necessary).
- Preheat the oven to 375oF. Put the turbinado sugar in a shallow dish. Using a cookie scoop, make balls of the dough and roll the balls in the sugar. Place on ungreased cookie sheets, 2 inches apart.
- Bake for 10 minutes, or until the cookies are starting to brown on the bottom and the tops start to crack. Let the cookies cool on a rack for 5 minutes – they will firm up a bit. Important – DO NOT OVERBAKE.