Gingersnaps with Creamy Pumpkin Dip

I don’t think anything says Christmas like gingerbread.

Whether it be gingerbread men, gingerbread cake or in this case, gingersnaps, I just get a urge for at this time of year.  These little babies with their telltale snap hinted with the flavor of ginger and molasses just fits the bill for Christmas cheer.  Pair them with a dip that’s creamy, sweet and full of pumpkin?

It’s a match made in heaven.

This recipe is a really good one if you’re craving gingersnaps like me.  The dip is to-die-for.  Sometimes I make it and buy store-bought gingersnaps, which are usually readily available during the Holiday Season.  It’s a quick fix to take to one of the many parties (we’ve had FOUR this week!) and will earn you rave reviews.

Start by dumping four cups of flour into a mixing bowl.  To this, add 2 tablespoons of ginger, one tablespoon plus one teaspoon of baking soda, 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon, and one teaspoon of salt into the bowl as well.  Just for fun, I grated in 1 tablespoon of fresh ginger.

Take a whisk and whisk your dry ingredients around a bit, just to mix them together.  Then, for the best results, you should sift them one time.

I truly hate sifting.  Then today I saw someone on a cooking show do it really quickly with one of those mesh strainer type things.  I’m getting one.  It looked so much better than squeezing that stupid handle on my sifter for 5 minutes.

Now that you have your dry ingredients sifted and mixed, throw one and one-half cups of shortening into a mixing bowl.  Add in 2 cups of white sugar.

Did you ever wonder how the original word lard became shortening?

Shorten -as in “shortening your life”.

Yep, that’s the truth.  Do you still want to make my cookies?

Dishin and Dishes is nothing, if not honest.

Mix this together until it turns pale yellow and fluffy.  There are just some things that butter doesn’t work in.  These cookies are one of those.  Add two eggs into this mixture, one at a time.   Then the star of the show comes into play.

Molasses.

I adore molasses.

My dad use to beat together sorghum molasses and butter when I was little and spread it on my toast.

Good stuff.

Measure out one-half cup of dark ooey gooey molasses and add it to your mixture.

That picture just makes me happy.  It means incredibly sweet and sultry flavor is going into my cookies.  Beat this in really well and then begin to add your sifted dry ingredient mixture.  Add one cup at a time with your mixer on low to medium speed.

Now, because I’m using these with Pumpkin Dip, I like to make them kind of small.  That way, you can scoop up the pumpkin dip and then get another, scoop up more pumpkin dip…well,  you get the picture right?

If you’re just making the cookies, you may want to make them a little larger.

Take a small teaspoon of dough and roll it into a ball.  Usually recipes say “About the size of a walnut”.  I have issues with that.  I don’t really know what size a walnut is most of the time as I always buy them shelled.

I mean, that’s just confusing right?

Let’s say 3/4 inch in diameter.  You could go a tiny bit smaller even.

Roll your cookie dough ball in a bowl with about 1/4 cup of sugar.  Just push it around lightly with your fingertips until the whole thing has a dusting of sugar all over it.  Place your cookies on a baking sheet.  I always line mine with parchment paper.  It keeps my good cookie sheets shiny and wonderful and I pull the whole sheet off and put it on my cooling rack when finished.

Make sure you keep some space in between them.  As they bake, they’ll spread.    Bake your cookies at 350º for 7-8 minutes for small cookies, or 10-12 minutes for larger cookies.  Watch them closely through your oven window.  When they start to crack on top, they’re done!

That poor cookie up front.  I whapped it with my oven pads on the way out of the oven.  It became a sample for one of the 19 teenage boys lurking around my house with Conner all day Saturday.

Try making cookies for a party with teenage boys at your house.

Not a good pairing.

Remove your cookies from the oven and let them cool.

Look at those lil’ darlings.  Right now at this point, they are warm and chewy and wonderful.  Soft and hot on the inside, crispy and sugary on the outside, you have to try one!  There is no resisting!

And yes, I did take a plate to the teenage boys.

And they finished off an entire gallon of milk in 10 seconds flat.

Please send money to the Wonderful household for groceries.  We have teenage boys here a lot.

But wait! There’s dip to be made.  It’s really simple.  Dump one block of cream cheese and one can of pure pumpkin into a mixing bowl.  Add 2 cups of powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon of ginger, and a tiny sprinkling of cloves.

Turn on your mixer and mix it all up real well.

Scoop it into a bowl and put it on a platter with some of your gingersnaps.

Enjoy this holiday treat today with your family.  My kids love this stuff.  Or take it to your next party!

It’ll be a big hit!

Katie’s Printable Recipe – Gingersnap Cookies with Creamy Pumpkin Dip

Cooking with Love,

~Katie