I love ginger and for me a ginger molasses cookie is about as good as it gets. So I set out to find a great one and came across this recipe which I will mostly be faithful to here with a few changes.

One not-so-big change is that I am tripling the recipe in the process pictures. I end up giving tons away and want to make sure that a lot of people I know get them. This is not just a presumption either. I get asked to make them with subtle ("It's been a while since you made those...") and not-so-subtle ("Want cookie now!") requests on a semi-regular basis.

The other changes will just be incorporated into the recipe. Let's begin.

Step 1: Fire Up the Oven

I've mentioned it before, but it's worth mentioning again. Make sure that your oven is at 350 degrees. Buy a thermometer and stick it in there or else risk being off by 50 degrees or so and wasting your time.

Step 2: Dry Ingredients

- 2 1/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. ground cloves
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 2 tsp. ground ginger (normal method)

For the cinnamon and cloves I prefer to get these in sticks and whole piece and grind them myself in a mortar and pestle. That's completely up to you. I think that the flavors come out a bit more and I got a huge mortar and pestle from Thailand as a wedding present. It also ups the workout quotient from zero to about 2 (on a scale of 0 to whatever).

As for the ginger I don't put it in here. You can probably guess why, but for the easier road, and there's no shame in that, use the stuff from the store.

Mix up the dry ingredients in a small bowl.

Step 3: Grate Some Ginger

I love ginger and I'm a glutton for punishment so I grate the stuff myself. For this recipe I use 2 1/2 to 3 tsps. of the stuff.

Step 4: Start to Mix Wet Ingredients

wet ingredients:
- 3/4 cup softened butter
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp. orange juice
- 1/4 cup molasses
- 2 1/2 to 3 tsp. ginger

Start by mixing the softened butter and sugar together.

Step 5: Mix in the Rest

Mix in the egg and the rest of the wet ingredients.

Step 6: Stir in the Dry Ingredients

In 2 or 3 additions, stir in the dry ingredients. Make sure to keep scraping up from the bottom to avoid any dry clusters.

Step 7: Drop the Balls of Dough on the Cookie Tray

Pull off pieces of the dough a little smaller than a golf ball and drop onto the lightly greased cookie sheet.

Now toss it in the oven for 8-10 minutes.

Step 8: Taking the Cookies Out

The art of baking is all about knowing when to take the cookies out so you don't overcook them. The goal is a soft and chewy cookie, not a hardened puck.

For these cookies the sign that they're good is when crevices start to appear in them and there is just the slightest hint of a bit of browning. This should take 8 - 10 minutes. The cookies below have already cooled a bit. Cookies in the oven will look almost twice as big.

Cool the cookies on the tray for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack for another 5 minutes or so before plating them.

Step 9: Eat and Give to Others

All right! You have some cookies! Now there's no way you're gonna eat them all yourself. Or you shouldn't since they're not health food. Remember all that butter and sugar? Good.

Now eat a few and pass the rest out to other folks who need a boost in their day.

Enjoy!