Gingersnap Cookies Tested Recipe

There are differences of opinion as to how 'spicy' a Gingersnap Cookie should be, and for that very reason I will tell you how to adjust the batter to suit your own individual taste. The first thing you must do is to make sure you periodically check your ground spices to see if they are still fresh, as stale spices will definitely make your gingersnaps 'flat' tasting. With that being said, one way to increase spiciness is to add, along with the other spices, a 1/4 teaspoon of white or black ground pepper or a 1/4 cup of finely diced crystallized ginger (which you can buy in small tins at specialty food stores or in bulk form from the health food store). Another idea is to add a little more molasses to the batter or use 'dark' molasses instead of 'light'. There are two types of molasses generally used in baking; light and dark. While I have used light molasses in this recipe, as I mentioned above, if you want a cookie with a more robust flavor, try using the dark molasses. Light molasses comes from the first boiling of the sugar syrup and is lighter in flavor and color than the dark molasses which comes from the second boiling. Molasses is usually labeled as "sulphured" or "unsulphured" depending on whether sulphur was used in the processing. I prefer the unsulphured molasses which is lighter in color and tends to have a nicer flavor. By the way, molasses is used in baked goods, not only for flavor, but also for color and moistness. Also, because molasses does stick to your measuring cup, it is a good idea to lightly spray your measuring cup with a nonstick vegetable spray before pouring in the molasses.