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Snappy Gingersnaps
Caitlin Question:
I'm having such trouble with gingersnaps and I hope you can help! My goal is a cookie that can last longer than one day while still being "snappy" and still tender to the bite. I can't seem to find the balance between chewy and tooth-breaking!
I've tried increasing baking powder, I've fussed with bake times, stored in sealed bags, I've thrown in desiccant to see what would happen, but still am unhappy with my results.
Rose Reply:
i've never actually made gingersnaps but in my book "rose's christmas cookies" i have both gingerbread for building gingerbread houses and gingerbread for gingerbread people! the difference is that in the people one i use egg, more butter and more brown sugar, all of which makes it more tender though still crisp. if you roll them thicker--say 1/4", they will be more soft, chewy and pudgy!
also be sure to underbake them slightly as on cooling they will firm up but still remain a little soft. these cookies keep for several months but of course become less soft with time.
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Comments
Actually, I use oil, because that's what my original recipe calls for, and they come out nice and crisp. I think if you used butter they might be a bit flatter. Also, I roll mine in demerara or raw sugar.
Reply to this Posted by: Dottiepark | April 28, 2008 4:32 PM #
Has anyone tried this with butter instead of vegetable shortening?
Reply to this Posted by: Beth | April 28, 2008 1:53 PM #
I have been using this recipe for years and people prefer it to any other cookie I make...but I add extra cinnamon and cloves, as well as allspice in lieu of ginger.
Reply to this Posted by: Dottiepark | April 26, 2008 11:03 PM #
The I Hate to Cook Cookbook is for sale - used - on Amaron.com. Louise
Reply to this Posted by: Louise Allen | April 26, 2008 4:30 AM #
The I Hate to Cook Cookbook is for sale - used - on Amaron.com. Louise
Reply to this Posted by: Louise Allen | April 26, 2008 4:27 AM #
Am so glad to get some of Peg Bracken's recipes, since my falling apart book got lost during a move. Also glad to know that the gingersnaps are the same as Betty Crocker's, and that my rolling the balls in sugar was a good idea.
Thanks, everyone.
Reply to this Posted by: Jean Gochros | April 25, 2008 10:25 PM #
Am so glad to get some of Peg Bracken's recipes, since my already falling apart book got lost during a move. Also glad to know the the spice cookie is the same as Betty Crocker's. Thanks,everyone! If I can find out where to obtain a copy of the Hate to Cook book, I'll let you know.
Reply to this Posted by: Jean Gochros | April 25, 2008 10:20 PM #
A favorite recipe of mine. I was so pleased to get a response when I requested Peg Bracken's recipe on the Internet. Thank you. S.T.
Reply to this Posted by: S.T. | October 20, 2007 1:43 PM #
The "elevator lady" recipe is almost identical to the molasses crinkles my grandmother has always made-- the ones from Betty Crocker! The only difference is that we dip each dough ball in sugar and sprinkle with water before baking. The cookies get a lovely, sparkly cracked top.
Reply to this Posted by: katie | November 8, 2006 5:42 AM #
My Mom had the I Hate To Cook Book and I enjoyed the Elevator Lady cookies as a child. I haven't had them in years.
As a professional chef I have access to many out-of-print cookbooks but have been unable to lay my hands on that one.
Thanks, Carol
Reply to this Posted by: coho | June 29, 2006 4:58 PM #
thanks for the recipe carol. i love peg bracken's books and sadly seem to remember hearing that she is no longer alive.
Reply to this Posted by: Rose Levy Beranbaum | March 18, 2006 11:12 PM #
Here's the recipe. If you feel ok about publishing it, since the book is out of print, be my guest! I'm sure Peg
Bracken would appreciate knowing that her recipe is being spread far and wide.
Elevator Lady Spice Cookies
From Peg Bracken’s I Hate to Cook Book
Mix together:
¾ cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1 egg, unbeaten
¼ cup molasses
Then sift together and stir in:
2 cups flour
2 tsp soda
¼ tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
¾ tsp powdered cloves
¾ tsp powdered ginger
Now mix it all together, and form it into walnut-sized balls.
Put them two inches apart on a greased cooky sheet
and bake at 375 degrees for ten to twelve minutes.
Intro to recipe:
“Once, in an elevator en route to my office, I was eating some spice cookies which I had made from a recipe in my big fat cookbook.
I gave one to the Elevator Lady, and she tasted it.
‘My,’ she said reflectively, ‘I can sure make a better spice cooky than that.’ So she brought me her recipe, and she was quite right. This is a short, rich, ginger-snap sort of a cooky, and the recipe makes plenty.”
Reply to this Posted by: Carol Goltz | March 13, 2006 9:15 PM #
thank you--would love to have the recipe!
Reply to this Posted by: Rose Levy Beranbaum | March 8, 2006 7:15 PM #
As a newcomer to your blog, I am just now reading older questions. Re: gingersnaps, although this cookie is not "snappy," it is a wonderful ginger-y cookie that crackles on top and if correctly baked stays soft inside. It's in the very old paperback "I Hate to Cook Book" and is called Elevator Lady Spice Cookies. If you want the recipe, I could type it out and email it, as the book is no longer in print.
Carol
Reply to this Posted by: Carol Goltz | March 5, 2006 6:11 PM #
the recipe is only available in "rose's christmas cookies," which is still available through jessica's biscuit (check 800 directory).
Reply to this Posted by: Rose Levy Beranbaum | December 17, 2005 4:42 PM #
Can I get your recipe for gingerbread people online. A friend has asked that I send it to her,but there is too much to copy out of your book, which I have. I would like to print it out and send it to her. She is 82 years old and
a terrific cook!
Reply to this Posted by: Susan Baillie | December 17, 2005 7:16 AM #