Chewy Ginger Cookies

First up---

The winner of the $25 gift certificate to Williams Sonoma is...
Tricia of Saving Room for Dessert 
Congratulations Tricia!

We make these chewy Ginger Cookies every year.  They're not very flashy, but they are delicious.  The spices are just perfect, and even though they spread out while they bake, they stay nice and chewy.  They're sturdy and they keep well so they're perfect if you are putting together a cookie gift assortment.  A batch of these will put you in the holiday mood, guaranteed. 

This recipe comes from our good friend Liz.  When my girls were very young she opened up her sunny kitchen to them for an afternoon of holiday cookie baking.  They made a huge mess and many cookies that day, but these were the memory makers.  They scent the kitchen and are absolutely addictive when eaten warm from the oven.   Thanks Liz---not only for giving us a favorite family recipe but for introducing my girls to the joys of baking.  I would have been too preoccupied with the devastation in my kitchen to have pulled it off.  Once flour gets into the nooks and crannies and crevices of a kitchen it's pretty much there for good...just like the image I carry with me of my girls dusted in white, proudly tasting their cookies.

Liz's Ginger Cookies

oven to 350

1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) butter, at room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1/4 cup molasses

2 cups flour

2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ginger

1/4 tsp cloves

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp allspice

extra sugar for rolling

• Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy.

• Add the egg and molasses.

• Add the dry ingredients and mix until blended.

• Form or scoop balls the size of a small walnut.  Roll in granulated sugar to coat.

• Place on an un-greased or parchment paper lined baking sheet 2" apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

Note:  You don't have to chill this dough, but if you do the cookies will spread a little bit less.  Either way the cookies will be chewy and delicious.