The Twelve Days of Cookies! On the First Day of Cookies...

Fresh Ginger Cookies! These are a favorite of mine and they are from Fine Cooking. They have a crisp edge and soft center. They are great with a hot cup of coffee or tea!

Here is the recipe... Enjoy!

Ingredients-

12 Tbs. unsalted butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

1/4 cup molasses

1 tsp. grated fresh ginger

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. table salt

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Granulated sugar for dipping

This recipe works best using a mixer fitted with a paddle, but you can use a regular mixer or a wooden spoon. Cream the butter and sugar until smooth. Add the egg, molasses, and ginger and mix a little more until blended. Sift together the dry ingredients, add them to the mixture, and continue mixing until a smooth dough is formed. If the dough seems very soft at this point, put it in the refrigerator for 20 to 30 minutes.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Turn the dough out of the bowl and divide it into about 36 marble-size balls (I made them regular cookie size). Roll the balls in the sugar (I wait until the cookies are already flattened to cover them in sugar, I think they "sparkle" a little more), and place them on non-stick or parchment-lined baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Flatten the balls slightly with you fingers. (I flatten the cookies between the backs of two plates with parchment paper on both sides of the cookie, cover them is sugar, and then lay them onto the covered baking sheet). Bake in the heated oven until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Transfer the cookies to a rack to cool completely, then store in an airtight container until ready to serve.