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Classic Gingersnap Cookie Recipe

by Organic Spa Magazine

Gingerbread is a holiday staple; whether molded into houses, snaps or men, the spicy-sweet treat is synonymous with the Christmas season.

And it is not just in the United States, as European and Asian cultures collided to create this holiday dessert enjoyed around the world.

According to historians, Chinese recipes were developed during the 10th century, and, by the late Middle Ages, Europeans made their own version of this sweet, syrupy, spiced confection. Gingerbread fairs were common across Europe, and bits of bread were considered good luck for knights entering a tournament as well as for women seeking a husband. Colonists brought gingerbread recipes with them from England and soon families started to make their own version of this Christmastime sweet. Even George Washington’s mother created her own American recipe for gingerbread cake.

Below, Organic Spa Magazine’s Founder & CEO, Bev Maloney-Fischback, shares a favorite family recipe from her grandmother, Dottie MacCallum, who perfected the traditional gingersnap cookie. Enjoy!


Ingredients:

  • ½ cup white sugar
  • 1 cup molasses
  • ½ cup shortening
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • pinch of salt
  • all-purpose flour (suggestion: ½ cup to start)

Directions:

  1. Mix sugar, molasses, shortening and ginger
  2. Heat mixture in a pot on the stove until hot and shortening has melted
  3. Add the baking soda and salt
  4. Remove from stove and let mixture cool
  5. Add flour until dough is formed
  6.  Roll dough out to ½ an inch
  7. Bake at 350 degrees F on a lightly greased cookie sheet for 5-10 minutes
  8. Remove from oven and cut into desired shapes while still hot
  9. Let cool and decorate

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