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<\/a><\/p>\nIt all started in Oklahoma<\/a>, the weekend before last. Brandon and I always do a lot of cooking there, both because my mother\u2019s kitchen is bright and roomy and because being there is so relaxing. We were only in town for three nights, but we cooked for two of them. We even baked cookies one afternoon, to have with coffee. That\u2019s when the trouble started.<\/p>\n I had a vision of a certain cookie, but I didn\u2019t have a recipe. I wanted a ginger cookie with molasses, a crackly-topped disc with a soft, dense center. I\u2019ve written about something similar<\/a> here before, but it didn\u2019t crackle quite the right way. I wanted something crisp and bendy, craggy and crackly, and with chocolate chips<\/b>. All in one cookie. I know what I want, and I wanted it immediately. You know, like, without delay.<\/p>\n So we searched the shelves and online, and we hemmed and hawed, and then we hawed some more. Eventually we settled on a good, standard formula, with plenty of ginger and cinnamon and molasses and butter. While I set to work on dinner, Brandon made the dough. We drank wine. We ate dolmas. We listened to Django Reinhardt. The cookies were in the oven and already smelling quite nice when Brandon announced, looking sheepishly at the pantry closet, that he\u2019d forgotten the molasses.<\/p>\n Now, mind you, they were very fine cookies anyway. Given that a good chunk of their flavor had been left in the closet, they were very fine indeed. I ate four of them that night and another three on the plane ride home. They were snappy and sweet, with a good, firm kick. But my tiny, hard, cookie-judging heart<\/b> wasn\u2019t happy. They were gingersnaps<\/i>, to be honest, and the cookie of my dreams was a nimble, chewy thing, with a soft crumb that swayed to the tooth. Granted, had we not forgotten the molasses, these cookies might have been it \u2013 the be-all, end-all \u2013 but I couldn\u2019t be sure. I decided to do some research. In the seven days since our trip home, I\u2019ve read a half-dozen recipes and made eighty-odd cookies. That\u2019s more than four score, for the history scholars. That\u2019s a lot<\/i> of cookies. The women at Brandon\u2019s work are going to hate me pretty soon for sending in so many sweets. Somewhere, Marlene is proud, I\u2019m sure.<\/p>\n First, for a chewier cookie, I fiddled with the fat. Ordinarily, I\u2019m not a big fan of shortening \u2013 it\u2019s kind of weird, like an especially crumbly cake of Dove\u2122 soap \u2013 but in some cases, it does wonders for texture. (Because it doesn\u2019t melt as quickly as butter does, cookies made with shortening spread less in the oven than all-butter ones, and they have a puffier, chewy consistency.) For good measure, I also tweaked the spices and threw in a good slug of chocolate chips<\/b>. Then, because a bag of demerara sugar<\/a> is a very bad thing to waste, I gave each cookie a sparkly, crystalline coat<\/b>.<\/p>\n It all sounds like fun, I\u2019m sure, like a field trip to the local bakery with your chemistry class. But by Saturday or so, and the third go-round, I have to tell you, things were looking pretty grim. Given enough time, delayed gratification starts to rot. It stinks. Nobody tells you that, but it does. It\u2019s a tough, nasty business. By the time the cookies were done, I wasn\u2019t even sure I wanted to try them. I made Brandon go first, like a royal taster at court. But I\u2019m happy to report, after all that futzing and fiddling, that the fuss made good. Never mind the wait and the wonky molasses. I got my cookies. They\u2019re smart with spice and ginger, crisp here, chewy there, and chock-a-block<\/b> with chocolate. Marlene would be pleased. They\u2019re just right, she\u2019d like to know, for stuffing in my cheeks.<\/p>\n Chocolate Chip Ginger-Molasses Cookies<\/span><\/p>\n When choosing shortening, be picky, and steer clear of brands that contain trans fats<\/a>. I keep a tub of Spectrum brand shortening<\/a> in the pantry closet, and it works like a charm.<\/p>\n Also, you\u2019ll note that this recipe calls for molasses. In this particular cookie, I like a mild one, such as Brer Rabbit Mild Flavor Molasses, but you could also use a standard dark variety. I wouldn\u2019t, however, reach for blackstrap molasses. It\u2019ll make the cookies taste too dark and Christmasy. Plus, it covers up the flavor of the chocolate chips. That\u2019s just wrong.<\/p>\n 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour In a medium bowl, combine the flour, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, baking soda, and salt. Whisk well. Add the chocolate chips and crystallized ginger, and whisk to blend. Set aside.<\/p>\n In a large bowl \u2013 preferably, a stand mixer \u2013 beat the butter and shortening briefly to soften them. Add the sugars, and beat until fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add the egg and the molasses, and beat to blend well, scraping down the sides as needed. Add the flour mixture in two doses, beating briefly after each until the flour is just absorbed. Do not overmix. Use a rubber spatula to give the dough a final stir if necessary; it will be quite firm and stiff. Cover the bowl, and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.<\/p>\n Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone liners. Pour the demerara sugar into a small bowl.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
2 \u00bd tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
\u00bd tsp. ground allspice
2 tsp. baking soda
\u00be tsp. salt
1 \u00bc cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
\u00bd cup finely chopped crystallized ginger
\u00bd cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
\u00bc cup vegetable shortening, at room temperature
\u00bd cup granulated sugar
\u00bd cup packed brown sugar
1 large egg
\u00bc cup unsulphured molasses
\u00bd cup demerara<\/a> sugar, for rolling<\/p>\n