Gingersnaps

 I made these cookies for a family book club because it went along with the book and I do love to follow a theme! I never really liked gingersnaps as a kid but these tasted so good! I liked that they are a little more soft and chewy rather than crunchy and "snappy" like most gingersnap recipes. Everybody in the family loved them and they were gone in a snap! I'd better double the recipe next time. This recipe says it will make 5 dozen but they would be mighty small! I ended up getting exactly 3 dozen small/medium cookies out of the batch.

Ingredients:

2 cups sifted, all-purpose flour
1 TBSP ground ginger
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup shortening
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup dark molasses
1/3 cup cinnamon sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Sift the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt into a mixing bowl. Stir the mixture to blend evenly, and sift a second time into another bowl. (I didn't sift and they still turned out great!)
3. Place the shortening into a mixing bowl and beat until creamy. Gradually beat in the white sugar. Beat in the egg, and dark molasses. Sift 1/3 of the flour mixture into the shortening mixture; stir to thoroughly blend. Sift in the remaining flour mixture, and mix together until a soft dough forms. Pinch off small amounts of dough and roll into 1 inch diameter balls between your hands. Roll each ball in cinnamon sugar, and place 2 inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet.
4. Bake in preheated oven until the tops are rounded and slightly cracked, about 9-10 minutes. Cool cookies on a wire rack. Store in an air tight container.

Peanut Clusters

I made this recipe to go along with our annual Harry Potter party. Of course, I called them Cockroach Clusters, just to mess with my kids but really no bugs were harmed during the making of this recipe! I'm glad too because....Cockroach Clusters?! Ewww!

 Ingredients
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
1 tablespoon creamy peanut butter
1 cup cocktail peanuts

 Directions
Place parchment paper on cookie sheet and set aside. Pour semi-sweet and milk chocolate chips and peanut butter into a large microwave-safe bowl. Heat for approximately 1 minute on 50% power. Stir and repeat until all chips are melted. Add peanuts to the melted chocolate and peanut butter and stir until well combined. Drop chocolate peanut butter mixture by the teaspoonful onto the parchment paper. Allow to cool in the refrigerator for approximately 30 minutes to an hour until completely firm. Store in an airtight container.