Monday 1 December 2008

Blog Advent Tour 2008 - Baking a special cookie



Welcome to this year's Blog Advent Tour 2008. Today is December 1, and I am very excited to be a part of this year's tour.

So,welcome, Gentle reader. Come into my home. I have a favourite cookie recipe that I discovered 2 years ago, and it has fast become a tradition in our home. Today, at this time of holiday and festivities, my daughter and I will show you how easy and quick this recipe is. It is easy, she is not quite 6 yet! Come share in the holiday spirit in our home by sharing in the making of:

The Ginger Spice Cookie, found in Chatelaine's November 2006 issue, Top 10 Cookie, from Karla Gogghe of Chatham, Ont.





Ginger Spice Cookies

Prep: 25 mins Bake: 7 min
Makes 40-45 cookies

Vegetable oil
2 cups (500 mL) all-purpose flour
2 tsp (10 mL) baking soda
1 tsp (5 mL) each cinnamon and ginger
½ tsp (2 mL) nutmeg
¼ tsp (1 mL) salt
1 egg
¾ (175 mL) vegetable oil
¼ cup (50 mL) molasses
1 cup (250 mL) packed brown sugar
1/3 cup (75 mL) granulated sugar

1.Arrange oven racks in top and bottom thirds of oven. Preheat oven to 350F (180C). Lightly spray or coat 2 baking sheets with oil. In a medium bowl, using a fork, stir flour with baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt. In a large bowl, beat egg with a fork. Then beat in oil and molasses. Using a wooden spoon, beat in brown sugar until evenly mixed. Gradually stir in flour mixture until well mixed.




2.Place granulated sugar in a small bowl. Pinch off about 1 tbsp (15 mL) dough and roll into a
ball. Then roll in granulated sugar until evenly coated. Place on baking sheet. Continue with remaining dough, placing balls at least 2 in. (5 cm) apart.

3. Bake on 2 racks in preheated oven, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until
cookies begin to crack and set around edges, 7 to 10 min. Remove baking sheets to a rack. Let cool on sheets. Store in an airtight container at room temperature up to 5 days or freeze up to 1 month.



And, voilĂ ! Wonderful ginger cookies that are a little bit crunchy on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside. Don't worry about the 5 days; they'll be gone long before then.



Baking from scratch is something I love to do, and don't often get time for. I find making this cookie fun and quick and very relaxing. As you can tell from the pictures, even if we make a mistake as we did this time and make some of the cookies too small (they were ½ the size required!) they turned out just the same. And I have yet to meet a person who does not like these. I hope you enjoyed the pictures at least! Daughter and I had so much fun making these together. As I write this, almost half the jar is empty already.

Now, Gentle reader, that you have watched us make cookies for the holidays, come, sit down in this chair, let's relax. Have a cup of tea with me, you can have the flowered mug, since clever readers will spot the Arsenal mug and know it's mine. There's a plate of our cookies for you and me.



Happy holiday season, in whichever manner you celebrate it, dear reader. May you be surrounded by love, be joyous all through the holidays, and may you, because we are all book bloggers, find a very special book - something you have longed for - under your tree this year!

32 comments:

Kerrie said...

Thanks for the recipe Susan

Bybee said...

This recipe has me convinced that I must buy an oven.
I love LOVE LOVE anything ginger!
Thanks...yum!

joanna said...

Wow, they look great! And your photos are beautiful - how nice to do some baking with your daughter. :-) Thanks for the recipe!

Ana S. said...

Oooh, these sound delicious! And I love the pictures of you an your daughter baking together. So cosy and Christmas-y!

Marg said...

Definitely inviting looking cookies! And great photos of you and your daughter!

Thanks so much for being part of the Advent tour!

Kailana said...

Yay for cookies! I will have to give this receipe a try!

Chrisbookarama said...

Aw, that was sweet. They sure look good!

Louise said...

I loved your recipe and your pics. I also love to cook and bake and like you said, sometimes it is not esy to find the time to actually do it. I'd like to bake those cookies and I specially want to thank you for also posting in the metric and the celcius system. Makes it much easier for a stupid Dane like me who doesn't know an ounce from a pound ;o)

Beth F said...

Great post! And I'm with Bybee -- if it has ginger in it, I'll love it. In fact, I have to take cookies to party on Saturday. I think I'll be making these.

raidergirl3 said...

I was hoping there would be a cookie for me after all the wonderful pictures. I could smell the ginger and was getting hungry! Thanks for sharing - the recipe, the pictures, and then the cookies.

I make the same type and have the kids help roll the balls in sugar too. What a wonderful tradition.
Merry Christmas!

Julia Phillips Smith said...

What a gorgeous flowery mug for your readers! Thanks for the coffee and cookies - I feel very Christmasey, now. The pictures are wonderful - making Christmas cookies is a big tradition in our house, too.

Andrew Meeusen said...

Who doesn't love Christmas-time cookies?! My favorite ones are the crushed peppermint cookies my family makes yearly, but this recipe seems like it would also be a good fit for our tastebuds. I can't wait to give it a go!

Vickie said...

What yummy cookies. I remember when I was younger my brother and sister and I would make cookies right before Christmas. My favorite was the candy cane looking cookies.

Your header picture and sunset picture are lovely.

Thanks for sharing.

Debbie said...

The recipe sounds great. I'm going to try it. I also love the look of your kitchen... it looks so "homey" and "inviting" (and I think I see a bookcase of cookbooks! My favorite things)

Becky said...

I love it! I love how you illustrated it with photos too :)

Strumpet said...

What a fabulous post to share with all of us! You're making me feel that maybe I have to do some baking :)

Morgan the Muse said...

What a great beginning, a recipe! And I like your style, and the flowered cup as well. Yum, cookies. Have to love it!

Melissa said...

Thanks for sharing your recipe. Yum.

Krissi said...

oh yummm!

Memory said...

Mmm! I'm a HUGE fan of ginger cookies, so you can bet this is going into my bookmarks. Thanks for sharing!

The Budgeting Diva said...

These look and sound delicious!

DesLily said...

when my kids (now in their 40's) were young I started baking cookies about 2 weeks before thanksgiving and had about 6 cookie jars filled at all times thru new years eve! I used to love to bake! Happy Holidays susan!

Julia said...

The Ginger Spicce cookies sound YUMMY! Thanks for inviting me to sit and eat with you *grin*. I just might try it this year, for the holiday. Thanks for the recipe and sharing!

Even though am not baker (yes I burn the bottom sometime), I love eat any home-made baking from anyone teehehe.

Alison Kerr said...

Recipe books are some of my favorite books and I LOVE fresh ginger cookies.

Kim said...

Loved this post. Loved the pictures of you and your little girl. It reminded me of my grown up girl when she was mommy's little helper.
The cookies look yummy and I can almost smell them. ;)
Merry Christmas..
Kim

Omah's Helping Hands said...

Mmmm, definitely going to have to try the recipe. Those look yummy. Great photos. It is so much fun baking with the kids! Thanks for sharing.

Sherry said...

Thanks for the recipe and the wish. I may have to make those cookies soon.

While I'm out and about for the Blog Advent Tour, I'm inviting folks to the Saturday Review of Books held at my blog Semicolon each Saturday. If you've never participated, it's a chance to leave links to your book reviews for the week and read those of others. Here's last Saturday's Review, for a sample. I hope to see you on Saturday.

Sherrie said...

Hi!
I am late getting around to all the blogs. I loved your photos. They are great! The cookies, I can almost smell them. Thanks for sharing!

Sherrie

Susan said...

Hello everyone: I read all your commments on Dec 1, and 2nd, and 3rd....I haven't been able to respond the way I wanted to, and now if course it's much too late! Except to say to each one of you: thank you so much for sharing in my Christmas tradition, for enjoying the pictures, and for hopefully finding a cookie you will love also :-D you each mean a great deal to me, as bloggers, as people who love books, and especially, there are some who are becoming friends too. This Advent Tour is great way to visit each other, and I am so happy you each came to visit me today. Happy holidays, everyone! Thank you!

Michelle Fluttering Butterflies said...

Oooh, I love cookies, especially at Christmastime. Thanks for sharing!

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