Gingersnaps don’t have to be hard and brittle. This recipe produces a nice soft center and crisp outside when they are left uncovered for a night. The molasses is a hygroscopic sweetener (moisture absorbing) so the cookie will get moister the longer they are left uncovered. If you like yours crisper, cover them shortly after they cool.

In order to keep the cookies in balls, rather than flattened when they are baked, it is important not to cream the butter and sugar. The more you work the butter and the sugar the more the cookies will spread during the baking process. Mixing them until just combined will produce a dough that will hold its shape.

The recipe and detailed instructions are at the end of this post. For this recipe, we need butter, sugar, egg, molasses, vinegar, flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and Turbinado sugar. Looks like we have it all. Ready, set, bake…

Using the dough hook and a low speed, mix the butter and sugar together until just combined. Incorporate the eggs, molasses, and vinegar and mix until combined.

Sift together the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and cardamom. Add to the butter mixture and mix on low speed until just combined. Cover and refrigerate until firm (about 30 minutes).

Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces, approximately 1 pound 2 ounces (510 g) each. Roll each piece into a rope 18 inches (35 cm) long and cut each rope into 30 equally sized pieces. I used a ruler, but you could cut the rope in half and then half again, repeating until you have 30 equal sized pieces.

Form the pieces into round balls and press the balls into crystal sugar to cover the tops. My cookies were perfect balls until I dipped them in sugar. In order to get the sugar to stick, I had to press fairly hard. If you want perfectly round balls, use a pastry brush and coat the balls with a little water and sprinkle them with the sugar instead. I like the odd shapes that were produced in the process. Place the cookies sugar-side up in sheet pans lined with baking paper.

Bake at 375°F (190°C) until lightly brown on top but still soft in the center, approximately 12 minutes. Your cooking time is going to vary depending on your oven and the weather (if its a rainy or humid day the molasses will require a little longer baking period).