Chocolate Chip Gingersnaps

My friend Colleen posted a recipe for Chocolate Chip Gingersnaps and in her post she said, “The warm whoosh of molasses, ginger and a hint of cloves each time I opened the oven door today was pure heaven.”   Well I knew right then and there that I had to make her cookies as they would be perfect for this month’s Crazy Cooking Challenge where all the participating bloggers were challenged to search non-celebrity blogs looking for the ultimate chocolate chip cookie recipe.  My kitchen did smell delicious as the cookies baked and made me think that I’ll have to make these again around the holidays because the smell and taste of these cookies had Christmas written all over them and plus, who can resist delicious gingersnaps with chocolate added to them?

I did change Colleen’s recipe just a bit in that I only had half the amount of shortening she called for in the house so I also used butter.  Then instead of just rolling the cookie dough in sugar I added candied ginger to the mix which I really enjoyed.

These little beauties straight from the oven were crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside.  I ended up with about 80 two-bite sized cookies so I froze most of them.  The cookies straight from the freezer are crunchy delicious but when fully thawed, they still had a crunch as well as a bit of chew.  Either way they were delicious and I would have to say, the ULTIMATE chocolate chip (gingersnap) cookie!

Chocolate Chip Gingersnaps (Adapted from here) 

3/8 cup shortening
3/8 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup molasses
1 egg
2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ginger powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon 
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
Half bag of mini chocolate chips

For rolling:
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup granulated candied ginger

Cream together the shortening, butter, brown sugar, molasses & egg.  Add the flour, salt, baking soda,  dry ingredients and stir into molasses mixture.  Stir in the chips. In a medium bowl mix together the 1/2 cup granulated sugar and the candied ginger.   Using a small cookie scoop form small balls and roll in the sugar & candied ginger mix.  Place the sugared balls two inches apart on a Silpat or greased cookie sheet.  Bake at 375ºF for about nine minutes.  Immediately transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Enjoy!