Ginger crackle cookies

By Tali Simon | December 6, 2011

I feel I should apologize.

These photos just do not do these cookies justice.

The tops crackle beautifully. The outer shell is just hard enough to give you something to bite into, and the inside is moist and soft and perfect. They’re deliciously fragrant. They’ve got all those great fall spices, and you know you love that they’re rolled in sugar.

And all I could manage were a few hurried photos taken on Friday afternoon.

Although I’m constantly looking for new recipes, planning new recipes, and dreaming about new recipes, I’ve made these ginger crackle cookies more often than I know.

Aside from being just really, really good (and a hit with both adults and kids), they’re easy. No fuss. And for me, no-fuss baking means “easy to make pareve.” Not that I make pareve food for us, of course. No need in a vegetarian kitchen. It’s for the other people, you know, the Shabbos hosts.

What’s that? You want to have us over this week? Sorry, we’re booked.

Ginger crackle cookies
Adapted from Gatherings
Yield: About 36 cookies

Ingredients

½ cup (100 g) butter or margarine
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup honey
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 Tbsp dried ginger
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
¼ cup white sugar, for rolling

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F/180 C. Cover baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

2. In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter/margarine and sugar. Add honey, egg, and vanilla, and beat again to incorporate.

3. In a separate bowl, combine flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add the dry mixture to the butter/sugar until everything is thoroughly combined.

4. Shape dough into small balls and roll in sugar. Place them about 2 inches apart on the baking sheets and bake 14 minutes.

Note: These cookies freeze well, just don’t try eating them straight out of the freezer.