The Spice House's Gingersnaps

We have to thank our friends at The Spice House for this amazing gingersnap recipe. I think we all agreed that these were the best gingersnaps we had ever had! What makes these gingersnaps so wonderful? The secret ingredient has to be the crystalized ginger nibs. If you are lucky enough to live in Milwaukee, you can buy a special kit from The Spice House, located in the historic Third Ward District, which contains all the spices and the ginger nibs you need to make these. If not, you can order anything you need from their website or visit one of the Spice House locations in Illinois to purchase the spices and ingredients separately. True, its not exactly gingersnap season, but with a scoop of good quality ice cream in between they make the ideal summer treat.

Gingersnaps (yields 5 dozen)

• 1 cup butter room temperature
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1/3 cup molasses
• 1 egg lightly beaten
• 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup ginger nibs
• 1/2 cup white sugar for rolling

Cream butter with sugars. Add molasses and egg and mix to combine. In a separate bowl, whisk together dry ingredients except for the 1/2 cup of white sugar reserved for rolling.

Add dry ingredients and mix to combine. Fold in the ginger nibs and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350. Roll dough into 1" balls, roll in reserved white sugar and place on un-greased cookie sheet 2 inches apart. Bake until golden, about 7-9 minutes. Let cool (if you can stand it) and enjoy!!