Ok, enough of the doom and gloom!
Unfortunately the Nobel Peace Prize can’t be awarded posthumously, or I’d nominate either my grandmother Stephenson or my great-grandmother Meyer (the authorship is a little sketchy..) for her Ginger Cookie recipe. I’m pretty certain that if Obama, Putin, Kim Jong-un and anyone else you want to name sat down around a plate of these tasty morsels, they’d see the light and we could work it all out.
Incidentally, I’ve checked with eminent nutritionists, who told me something startling and counter-intuitive about the recipe. It turns out that if consumed with a smile and a loving heart, the saturated Crisco and refined sugar are actually calorie-free and even good for your soul and heart! Strange but true.
There’s also a secret ingredient that I’m going to try out for the first time this year when three adorable grand-children arrive on Tuesday: making them with tiny, tiny hands and spilling lotsa flour on the floor (maybe even throwing small amounts at each other!).
Here goes:
Grandmother Stephenson’s Ginger Cookies
1 cup of Crisco
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of dark molasses (need I say it? Grandma’s brand recommended!)
4 tsp. of baking soda
2 tsp. of ginger
2 tsp. of cinnamon
1/2 tsp. of ground cloves
1/4 tsp. of nutmeg
1 tsp. of salt
6 cups of flour (I’d suggest Powdermilk if you can get it, because of its beneficial effects on shy persons…)
1 cup of sour milk (add 1 Tbsp. of white vinegar to the milk)
Cream Crisco and sugar. Add molasses. Sift 2 cups of flour and the other dry ingredients. Add the dry ingredients alternating with the sour milk. Sift and add rest of flour — and enough extra flour, if needed, to make a soft dough. Chill overnight. Roll cookies and bake 5-8 minutes at 375-400.
PS: It’s still unclear to me whether this is best done totally by hand or if you can use a Kitchenaid. I suspect that the extra love added by hands-on approach is preferable (WARNING: avoid any tears falling in dough).
Blessings!
