Summers at Emma Lake. It was filled with halcyon days of swimming, building rafts and dreaming the hours away. We lived completely off the grid. We chopped wood , pumped water and lit oil lamps to chase away the dark. Meals were cooked on a wood burning stove and the finest cookies in the world were baked in its oven.
I baked in the evening when the oven was the right temperature for cottage cookies. Cottage cookie ingredients do not require refrigeration, and only two mixing bowls, a whisk, and a baking sheet. The cookies are quick to make; whisk oil, sugar, egg and molasses together, stir in the flour mixture, roll the cookie dough in a little sugar and pop in the oven.
The original recipe, found in an old copy of Canadian Living magazine, was called Ginger Crackle cookies. Over time this unprepossessing cookie evolved into an addictive, ginger loaded morsel of perfection. A cookie crisp and crackling on the edges, tender, chewy in the middle. A cookie with a generous amount of ginger, a flattering amount of cinnamon and cloves, a pinch of cayenne pepper and several grinds of black peppercorns. You can never eat just one!
While I baked cookies, Monopoly, Snakes and Ladders and card games were the evenings entertainment. I still have the deck of cards used at the cottage. When I open the box I swear I can smell the aroma of ginger cookies and wood smoke.
DOUBLE DOUBLE GINGER CRACKLE COOKIES | Print |
- ⅔ cups (128 grams) vegetable oil
- 1 cup (200 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- ¼ cup (80 grams) fancy molasses
- 1¾ cups (210 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 heaping tb ground ginger (more is always better)
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground cloves
- 5 grinds black pepper
- pinch of cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp fine sea salt
- ¼ cup granulated sugar to finish the cookies
- In a large bowl whisk oil with the sugar. The cup you used to measure the oil - use it to measure the molasses without rinsing it out.. (easier to clean)
- Whisk in the egg.
- Add the molasses and whisk well.
- In a separate bowl whisk together flour, spices, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- Using a strong wooden spoon stir the flour mixture into the molasses mixture. The dough is very slack but will thicken slightly a you mix.
- In good size shallow bowl add a ¼ cup of sugar.
- You can use the smallest size ice cream scoop (my definite preference) or shape tablespoonfuls of dough into balls(they won't be perfect) and roll in sugar to coat.
- Because the dough is so slack the cookies will spread into perfectly shaped round.
- Place the cookies two inches apart on parchment paper baking sheets. THE COOKIES REALLY SPREAD. Bake in 375F over for about 12 minutes. Rotate the cookie sheet half way through baking.
- Let the cookies rest on the sheet until cool.
- This makes 36 cookies (if using the tablespoon) . Per cookie 95 calories
- I use the smallest size ice cream scoop and get 30 slightly large cookies = around 100 calories