Molasses ginger crackle cookies: a recipe

Confession: I'm not a dessert person. Give me cheese over cheesecake every time.

When I was little, my sister used to love to sit next to me at family birthday parties because I would only eat the cake part of the cake, not the icing, which of course I would give to her. And I mean none of the icing. You know the skinny little layer of icing between the cake layers? Yup -- I would eat around it.

This probably explains why I prefer cookies that are a little spicy or packed with fruit, rather than lots of chocolate. Case in point: these molasses ginger cookies.

The recipe comes from the Eating Well magazine web site, so they aren't too god-awful for you, fat- and calorie-wise. And the cookies pack a double wallop: chewy molasses-y texture with a tangy bite of crystallized ginger. Perfect!

It's like what fall would taste like if you could capture it in cookie form.

Molasses Ginger Crackle Cookies (adapted from Nancy Caverly, via www.eatingwell.com)

Ingredients
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup plus 1/3 cup sugar, divided
1 large egg, beaten
1/4 cup molasses
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1/3 cup crystallized ginger, finely chopped

Directions
Beat butter and 1 cup sugar with a mixer, stand or hand-held, until creamy. Add egg and molasses. Mix well.

In a separate bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, cloves and ginger until well blended. Stir in crystallized ginger. Blend the flour mixture into the butter mixture a little at a time, mixing well, until it is all incorporated. Chill the dough in the refrigerator until firm, 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Place the remaining 1/3 cup sugar in a shallow dish. Roll the dough into 1-inch balls and then roll in the sugar. Place 1 1/2 inches apart on baking sheets.
Bake the cookies, in batches, until they crackle on top, about 8 to 10 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack.