Spicy bites

My sister sent me a special request for some ginger cookies. She had sent me a link to a recipe for Triple Ginger Cookies on 101 Cookbooks last year which sounded intriguing. Twice I purchased fresh ginger in hopes of making these...but after reading the recipe, it seemed so involved that I never followed through. Finally, I pulled myself together and made these a few weeks ago. Between chopping the crystallized ginger to melting some of the ingredients on the stove, they are a bit of work....the original recipe also called for star anise, finely ground. I found star anise at Bristol Farms, but decided to substitute in Chinese Five spice rather than grounding the spice myself.

The end product was very tasty...

Triple Ginger Cookies (adapted slightly from 101 Cookbooks)

1/2 cup large grain sugar (turbinado)
2 cups of whole wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon Chinese Five Spice
4 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1/2 cup butter (one stick)
1/4 cup molasses
2/3 fine grain natural cane sugar, sifted
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh ginger, peeled and grated
1 large egg, beaten
1 cup crystallized ginger, finely minced
2 lemons, zest only

Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Place large grain sugar in a bowl for coating.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, Chinese Five spice, ground ginger and salt.

Heat butter in a skillet until just barely melted. Stir in the molasses, natural cane sugar and fresh ginger. The mixture should be warm but not hot. Whisk in the egg. Now pour this mixture over the flour mixture, add crystallized ginger and lemon zest. Stir until just combined.

Roll about 1/2 teaspoon of dough into ball shape and then drop into the large grain sugar to coat. Place balls on prepared baking sheet a few inches apart. Bake for 7 to 10 minutes or until cookies puff up and crack.
Makes about 4 dozen cookies.