Ginger Snaps

Makes 96 2-1/2 inch cookies or 192 1-3/4 inch cookies

4 cups of all-purpose flour

4 teaspoons baking soda

4 teaspoons ground ginger

3 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground allspice

1/2 teaspoon salt

16 Tablespoons unsalted butter (two sticks), melted

1/2 cup dark molasses

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup (packed) light brown sugar, lump free

2 large egg

1 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger (2 2/3 ounces)

1/2 cup coarse raw sugar crystals for rolling the cookies

---2 cookie sheets lined with parchment paper

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Position the racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven, or in the center if you will bake only 1 sheet at a time.

2. Combine the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, and salt in a bowl and mix together thoroughly with a whisk or a fork.

3. Combine the warm (not hot) butter, molasses, granulated sugar, brown sugar and the egg in a large bowl. Mix thoroughly. Add the flour mixture and crystallized ginger, sugars, and eggs in mixer. Add the flour mixture and crystallized ginger and stir until incorporated.

4. Form the dough into 1-1/4 inch balls (slightly more than 1 level Tablespoon of dough to make cookies 2-1/2 inch cookies or use 1/2 Tablespoon of dough to make 1-3/4 inch cookies. Roll dough balls in sugar and place them 2 inches apart on the cookie sheets. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes for large cookies 8 to 10 minutes for small cookies or until they puff up, crack on the surface, and then deflate in the oven. For chewier cookies, remove them from the oven when at least half of the cookies have begun to deflate; for crunchier edges with chewy centers, bake a minute or so longer. Rotate the sheets from back to front and top to bottom about halfway through the baking time to ensure even baking.

5. Slide the parchment liners onto racks or use a metal pancake turner to transfer the cookies from the pan. Cool completely before stacking or storing. Cookies served on the day they are baked will be chewy with crunchy edges. Ginger Snaps will become completely chewy stored in an airtight container. They are best eaten within 3 days.

From Alice Medrich's Cookies and Brownies