I vividly remember the scent of my grandparents’ kitchen. There was no lingering aroma of the previous night’s dinner, but instead a lovely, light fragrant infusion which emanated from Annabelle’s spice drawer….a mixture of cloves, ginger and cinnamon…though, somehow, it seemed more exotic. Anabelle was the grandmother who let us eat toasted and buttered angel food cake for breakfast…and, if we were lucky, she’d have a batch of her paper thin ginger cookies to snack on later in the day.
I inherited my grandmother’s terra cotta cookie press which I found in my parents’ silverware drawer…then messaged my aunt, sisters and cousins when I couldn’t locate my recipe for these old-fashioned ginger cookies. I love that my aunt, Angela, copied the recipe word for word. No instructions how to mix the dough, and who the heck knows the size of a filbert? Not me, till I googled it! I treasure this recipe…and added some more details so you all can try them, too.
The leaf and berry pattern on my cookie press shown above did not show clearly after I baked the first batch. So I ended up rolling the rest of the dough balls in sugar and just not worrying about the design. My kids prefer a chewier cookie so I baked mine for just 8 minutes.
Today, I’m sharing this recipe with my blogging friend, Abeer, of CakeWhiz, who is organized a Christmas Extravaganza. You’ve probably seen her amazing creations on Pinterest and around the web…they are incredible! We were to take a holiday recipe and give it a twist. Mine is using nearly a century old, family recipe and seeing how it works in a modern kitchen. Check out the other wonderful holiday creations below.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup butter
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup molasses
- 2 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon cloves
- 1 teaspoon ginger
Instructions
- Cream butter and sugar, then add egg and molasses. Mix in baking soda, cinnamon, ginger and cloves. Stir in flour.
- Chill dough. Roll in tiny balls, slightly larger than a filbert* (I used either 1 or 1 1/2 teaspoons of dough per cookie). Flatten with a glass dipped in sugar.
- Bake at 350º about 8-10 minutes. Cool on a brown grocery bag (I used a cooling rack).The smaller the ball, the thinner you can flatten the dough. If you go for a double batch, be sure you have a liter of gin and a chair to get you through the afternoon.** Oh, you don't need to grease the cookie sheet (I line sheets with parchment).
- * A filbert is the same as a hazelnut and about 20 mm in diameter.
- **Don't you love unedited old family recipes????
1. Chocolate cranberry skillet cake from Sandra at Sandra’s Easy Cooking
2. Pistachio and cardamom semifreddo with rose cream from Manu at Manu’s Menu
4. Chocolate cookies with candied fruit slices from Kate at Diethood
7. Stollen from Roxana at Roxana’s Home Baking
8. Cocoa mint shortbread from Tiffany at Comowater
9. Rose syrup chocolate bark from Abeer at CakeWhiz
P.S. I’ve added a follow by email option…check it out on the right side of my page…and you won’t miss a single post!
I’m also joining the Sweets for Santa bloghop. Thanks to Christina, of The Hungry Australian, for hosting this event:
{ 26 comments… read them below or add one }
Anabelle sounds like a hoot! The cookies look great, love the special press:@)
That is one gorgeous looking cookie Lizzy and the pics are really beautiful , loved your post and seasons greetings to you
Grandmothers who baked are the best, they leave great memories. And cookie presses. Lovely cookies Liz!
Guess this cookie is definitely your tradition to continue!
Perfect little circles!
Lovely cookies just perfect for Christmas
Merry Christmas
Dear Lizzie,
This cookies look amazing.
I came to wish you a very Happy Christmas for you and your Family and I hope Santa brings all the happiness in the world.
Big kiss
I love this post… makes me feel so warm and cozy.
Beautiful cookies, Lizzy! Have a great Christmas!!
They sound and look delicious. And that’s a great cookie press. Great memories of Grandma, for sure!
Lizzy , these cookies makes me drool !
The first photo is just awesome ! 5 stars for both cookies and the pic ! lol
Beautiful cookies, and I am imagining how crispy and yummy they are…wonderful job as always Liz!
Wishing you very happy Holidays!!!
i am always impressed with how round and perfect your cookies are…heheh.
and i am so glad you joined my extravaganza with this family recipe…it was perfect
Oh, this post is so wonderful. My mother’s recipes all sound like this (using measurements like the size of a walnut, or 5 cents worth of yeast etc.). I absolutely love them and can tell the ones that are the most stained and splattered are the ones she used the most!!! Your Grandmother’s Ginger crisps sound DELISH – especially with Gin
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Ginger crisps, snaps and cookies are everywhere right now. I say the more the merrier. I heard filbert a long time ago too. Don’t remember what it is.
Wonderful recipe, Lizzy! I can imagine that it means a lot to you, brings nice memories.
Merry Christmas, dear!
These cookies look delicious and I love that they are your grandmother’s recipe… family recipes are the best as they are full of memories!
Merry Christmas to you and your beautiful family Lizzy! 
Send some over please…My husband loves ginger snaps but I never made at home. These will be perfect to surprise him.
I love molassess ginger combo. Delicious always. ginger crisps is really yum and beautiful.
Oh i love ginger crisps, we have a chinese version with sesame seeds. This recipe sounds yummy! I would love to try this soon, sounds doable for me
thanks lizzy, merrynchristmas!
I love a recipe that comes with such warm memories and I love the flavors in it..ginger and cinnamon are one of my all time favorite flavor combos
Such a sweet post, Lizzie. It’s amazing how certain smells evoke such strong memories…like these delightful ginger crisps your grandmother used to bake:)
Lizzy,
I love family recipes. This one looks great. I’ve got to try it.
I adore heirloom recipes like this. You’re lucky to have this recipe and these memories.
Beautiful looking cookies and love the cookie press design – its so cute! Great shots as well
What a great method – love the gin bit
These sound just perfect – Christmas time or any time!
I personally love an old recipe. I have very few as my mother hated cooking and my grandma got alzheimers and I dont know what happened to hers. One thing I do know however is that I love ginger cookies and mosat especially with sugar on the outside
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