Sunday, January 25, 2015

Gingersnaps


I hardly knew what to expect from these gingersnaps.  I've never baked gingersnaps; in fact, my familiarity with them is limited to the boxes of Nabisco gingersnaps she sometimes brought home for a treat.  I wasn't that enchanted with them, preferring my great-grandmother's sugar cookies, or, if they had to be storebought, frosted date and nut cookies or Nilla wafers.  Gingersnaps made me think of pioneers, of hardy women who had to bake with blackstrap molasses and lard instead of white sugar and butter, the way God intended.


I could tell by the ingredient list that these weren't going to be dark brown, like the gingersnaps I knew, because there was no molasses--just golden syrup and brown sugar, neither of which was likely to color the cookies a dark brown.  (I didn't have golden baker's sugar or caster sugar, but made do with brown and superfine sugars).  In retrospect, I wish I'd used a darker sugar.


These cookies were a snap to put together (yuk, yuk), and when I was done amusing myself with that lame pun, I started to wonder why they were called gingersnaps:  ease of preparation?  texture?  flavor?  Since the internet is never wrong, I turned there for an answer.  According to eHow, whose veracity I cannot vouch for, a gingersnap is a ginger "biscuit" (cookie for the Yanks among us) which is called a snap because they're very crispy and make a snapping sound when broken.


I was very puzzled by these cookies.  They looked right, or at least they didn't look wrong, but they were soft, definitely not crispy, and definitely not dark.  I read the description again:  "cracks will appear on the surface and the cookies should be golden brown."  Looks good.  The cookies "will firm up as they cool, resulting in a crispy surface and soft, chewy interior."  That pretty much described them, but they assuredly do not make a snapping sound when broken, more of a soft "whoosh."  I can see that ginger whooshes might not catch on.


I taste them, still unsure what to expect.  Hmmm.  Interesting.  A whisper of ginger flavor, but definitely not in your face.  In fact, the flavors are quite subtle.  I go back and look at the recipe, suddenly noticing that the 3 grams of ground ginger that I used really wasn't very much.  I weighed it out again.  3 grams is about 1 teaspoon, and most definitely not 3 teaspoons.

I send a quick email to Woody, who first tells me that he's sure they didn't have the ground ginger in grams.  I tell him they do have it in grams.  He gets the book, and tells me cheerfully, "well, that's a mistake."  They're not duds, exactly--they have a nice flavor and the golden syrup adds some complexity.  Still, you'd never call it a spice cookie, although that's what it is, and I'm pretty sure my version is not what it's meant to taste like.

Now I can't wait to see the pictures and read the descriptions of the other Alpha Bakers' versions of gingersnaps.  I hope that no one but me puts in 3 grams of ginger.


15 comments:

  1. My cookies look just like yours! I baked my much longer thus they became dark and hard..and instead of snapping, mine can't even break into 2 with my hands.. have to use a hammer to crack it into 2. LOL! Even though I put 3 tsp of ginger, it still wasn't gingery as I expected. I would have liked it to be more gingery. :)

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  2. Very pretty cookies! The name in no way implies what these cookies are for a typical Yank. Even with the three full, and maybe a bit more, teaspoons of ground ginger, the ginger flavor is still faint. They are seriously good!

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  3. Very pretty cookies! The name in no way implies what these cookies are for a typical Yank. Even with the three full, and maybe a bit more, teaspoons of ground ginger, the ginger flavor is still faint. They are seriously good!

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  4. Marie--I weighed 3 grams of ginger (times four for my quadruple batch of cookies!) and found the ginger far too subtle. Thanks for following up with that, you are an able and fearless leader for the Alpha Bakers! I hadn't baked gingersnaps before either. I do like them, however. REALLY loving being part of this ongoing project!

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  5. I used 3 grams and liked it, actually glad I didn't use more. Great post - ginger whooshes -awesome.

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  6. I like the amount of ginger on them... And I spoon measure it. I cannot say they were my favorite, but they sure beat the commercial product out there.

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  7. Yours turned out pretty. They look so uniform in their roundness. Thanks for the background on the name. "Since the internet is never wrong, I turned there for an answer" - what would we do without internet?

    I used 1 teaspoon of ginger for my 1/3 recipe. I can't taste the ginger so will try to up it a bit next time.

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  8. For me, I stuck my measuring spoon in the jar and put a heaping tablespoon. They tasted very gingery and hot. Loved them. Marie, the cookies in the wooded bowl is a great shot. Love the wooden bowl.

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  9. I personally think Ginger Whooshes would be a hot seller at the farmer's markets. So artisanal! I'm so glad you let us know to measure the ginger by volume, not weight, thank you for taking the bullet for us on that.

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  10. I vote for Ginger Whooshes!! I too have been puzzled by the lack of snap, questioning if I did something wrong....I used 3 tsps, of Ginger, but still find the flavor pretty faint. Regardless, I think they're great with a tall glass of milk. Love your picture of the cookies in the bowl!

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  11. ב''ה

    Definitely ginger 'wooshes'.

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  12. By the way--I keep meaning to ask about the Facebook page! How do I join?

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    Replies
    1. hi Michele ,I would like to know to how to join in where it is because I don't know either.

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    2. Michele and Maggie,
      Email me your Facebook names and I'll invite you to join.

      Delete
  13. Ginger Whooshes definitely. My "whooshes" had a definite after bite. ( with 3 teaspoons) There's probably a bit of variation in the strength of ground ginger.

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