Ok, before we get into the recipe, I have to share how you'll feel when you make these savory sweet Gingersnap cookies. When you combine the spices of Cinnamon, Ginger. and Cloves it truly is Christmas. These spices bring warmth and comfort permeating throughout my home that I love and brings so much Joy of memories from the past! I know you'll love it as well.
But first, let me go back to a time and paint a picture of Christmas at our home and how this recipe came to be a family favorite. Growing up in the 70's, Southern Living cookbooks were an important part in every household, especially mine. Not only was it necessary to have these cookbooks, but my mom, and I'm sure your mom or grandmother, displayed them on the kitchen counter, like a precious heirloom.
There they were...all lined up, in order, with cute little bookends. Every year, I believe, she would get another one. Of course, she subscribed to the Southern Living magazine as well so recipes in our house were overflowing. Every Christmas, she would look through her books, tear pages out of the magazine and put them in her blue denim 3" binder (shown below) and start hunting for the perfect Christmas cookie line up of the year.
Her blue binder, which I covet, was a treasure trove of recipes from my grandmother, aunts, her friends and Southern Living cutouts. We would gather the recipes for Lemon Logs, Sugar Cookies (which is my grandmother's and I use when I make my cookies for classes and custom orders), Snowballs, Cherry Winks, Apricot Thumbprints, and so much more. We'd make the list and would go together to shop for all the ingredients. She'd don her Christmas apron and we would get to baking. Oooo...what a great couple of days of "Barbara Jeanne grab that 'something' from the back of the cabinet. I can't reach the pan, grab that chair and climb up there and get my "something'." You get the picture. It's probably the same things you've heard when you were in the kitchen with your mom or grandmother. I was her 'go to' girl and I hold those memories tight!
No, on to the star of the show. Mine and my dad's favorite Christmas cookies were the Gingersnaps. These cookies are a total party in your mouth and I'm telling you, it doesn't matter what time of year it is, when they bake and the aromatics travel around your house, you are transported back in time when Christmas was slower, and we were just together, building a puzzle on her bridge table on a snow day (we lived in New York so we went through a lot of puzzles) and roasting chestnuts, in our fireplace...Yes she did that, but that's another post. Lol
This recipe originally came from Southern Living magazine, but it is part of my Christmas tradition cookie lineup and I'm excited to share them with you. Maybe they can be a part of your Christmas cookie line up this year. They are super easy to make so they're very beginner friendly. I hope you enjoy them!
Pro tip baker notes.
The cooking time. All ovens are different. Start with 10 minutes. When you open your oven door to check them, look to see if you see a shine on the top of the cookie. If you do see a shine, let it cook for 1 more minute. During that last minute the edges will start to brown, you want that. You will know they are done when it has a matte finish on the tops.
They bake up and will be slightly puffy, but as they rest on your baking sheet they will flatten out. The outside will be beautifully crisp, and the inside will be mouth wateringly soft and chewy.
Let me know in the comments if you have any questions, or if you made them. I'd love to hear from you. Happy Baking from my family to yours!!
