Earlier this year I broke some really bad news to Alyssa:
Me: “Ugh, I LOVE Christmas and I love decorations and I want them ALL. But I don’t want to pay for them and I don’t want to store them. Who has SPACE? And even if you do (I do), you have to PACK it all away.”
Alyssa: “Well, um, I’m from the Midwest. You’re probably talking to the wrong person.
True story. Second true story, just because it’s cute:
I recently asked Alyssa (why yes, she IS my magical Christmas Dear Abby) how many strands of light I should buy for my tree. Adorably, she asked her dad who responded (via text, to her in Japan and then forwarded to me in California) “My rule of thumb is you have enough when you have to squint. 100 per foot is probably FINE FOR MOST.” FOR MOST. I die.
And that’s why this is the first year that I actually own seasonal cookie cutters. First, I bought them LAST year for 75% off and second, I amazingly remembered where I put them. This means I can share one of my top three Christmas cookies with you: Ginger Crisp Cookies! These babies are gingerbread flavored crisps with just the right balance of crisp and chew. Even better, the delicious sugar brand T-Sugars sent over some of their product and I was able to spruce up the recipe.
The sugars that T-Sugars provided were absolutely lovely and luxe and I couldn’t recommend them more highly. I loved each product they provided: the Belgian Cassonade Sugar (a super premium, caramelized brown sugar), Cassonade Syrup (a bit like dark corn syrup, but with an actual alluring FLAVOR) and an Icing Sugar Mill (not used for this particular cookie, but it COMES WITH A MILL right on the packaging.)
I used both the Belgian Brown Sugar and the Cassonade Syrup in this recipe, and the rich flavors were right on point. I make my cookies nice and spicy, so caramel notes are a great compliment.
Helpful hint: If you roll out pastry a lot, get a marble slab. They really, truly help keep the dough as cool as possible and you’ll feel like such an expert.
- 1 cup butter, room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup T-Sugar Cassonade Sugar (Gourmet Brown Sugar)
- 3 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 tablespoon hot water
- 1 egg
- 2 teaspoons T-Sugars Cassonade Syrup (Brown Sugar Syrup)
- Add butter and granulated sugar/T-Sugars Cassonade Brown Sugar to a mixing bowl. Cream together until light and fluffy.
- While the butter and sugar cream, sift flour, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, dissolve baking soda in hot water.
- Add the baking soda/water mixture, egg and T-Sugars syrup to the creamed butter and sugar.
- Mix in flour in small batches to form a dough.
- Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill for about 2 hours.
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
- Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to about 1/4 inch thick.
- Use cookie cutters to cut and place two inches apart on a cookie sheet prepped with a sheet of parchment paper.
- Bake for 7-9 minutes, until slightly puffy and golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.
- If you are concerned about your cookies spreading and really want them to hold their cookie cutter shape, only cream the butter and sugar just long enough for the ingredients to mix. This will help ensure that there is not too much air incorporated into the dough.
Not going to lie: I also used the Cassonade Syrup right on top of the cooled cookies as a little sweet drizzle. RECOMMEND.
You’ll notice that my cookies spread a bit from their pre-baked shape. I’m not a stickler, but I did add a note to the recipe with a tip for preventing spread. Check there if you’re looking for picture perfect shapes. Or do what I did and gift them anyway! 😉 I’m no cookie purist.
Unfortunately, I didn’t give them all away fast enough and found out first hand that everyone really does love fresh cookies. There were at least 4 cookie shaped mystery holes on my cooking rack.
Shh, this stack is all mine.
Thank you to T-Sugars for sponsoring this post and providing some of their excellent sugars! All opinions above are my own.
These look like a great option for a cookie exchange gathering!
OOoh, totally! The little ones also like helping with the cookie cutters, which is extra fun. 🙂
Ohhh, my tree would be no where near his standards, lol! I love it! And these cookies… They are just perfect (and so cute!)
Hee, I KNOW. He wraps the branches, I hear. 🙂
Whoa! These Ginger Crisps look amazing! I’ll take a dozen!
Perfect for any holiday party! So cute, and they sound great!
Love ginger cookies! These look fantastic 🙂 And I’m loving the pics!
I love ginger cookies and these look absolutely perfect! I love that you used the syrup as a drizzle on top!
These look so pretty! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
You are TOO funny! Such a great story that perfectly summarizes life on the West Coast vs Midwest. The cookies look fabulous!