Old Fashioned Ginger Snap Cookies (Depression Era)
A traditional family recipe hailing from the 1930s, these simple homemade ginger snaps are melt-in-your-mouth crunchy and full of warm, spicy flavor.
Ingredients
- 6 oz molasses ½ a 12 oz jar
- ½ cup brown sugar packed
- ¼ lb lard
- ¼ cup water room temperature
- 3 cups all purpose flour start with 2.5 cups
- 1 tablespoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 1.5 tablespoon ground ginger
- ½ cup sugar granulated
Instructions
- Melt lard and combine with water, molasses, and brown sugar in a mixing bowl.
- In a small bowl combine the first two and a half cups of flour with the baking soda, cinnamon, and ginger.
- Slowly add flour mixture to wet ingredients to combine.
- Using the other ½ cup of flour, slowly add one tablespoon at a time until the batter looks thick when moving with the mixer but still falls away from the mixing paddle when not stirring. It will not be quite as thick as regular cookie dough until the lard sets back up.
- Cover with a dish towel and leave overnight to rest. Do not refrigerate.
- Roll out cookies into ½" thick ropes and cut about 2" wide. Press into granulated sugar on one side and place sugar side up on a nonstick or silicone lined baking sheet.
- Bake in a 350 degree oven for 6-7 minutes, until cookies spread and begin to crackle on top. Remove to a cooling rack to cool completely before storing in an airtight container.
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Notes
Cookies spread and rise considerably while baking, give them plenty of space to do so.
A double batch will just fit in a standard kitchenaid mixer.
For soft ginger cookies, store with a slice of bread. Cookies will develop a traditional "snap" stored alone.
Nutrition
Calories: 52kcalCarbohydrates: 9gProtein: 1gFat: 2gSaturated Fat: 0.4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.5gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0.2gSodium: 47mgPotassium: 44mgFiber: 0.2gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 0.4IUVitamin C: 0.005mgCalcium: 8mgIron: 0.4mg
Nutrition information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate. It is recommended to use your preferred calculator with the actual ingredients you use for optimal accuracy.
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