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.