These spicy holiday cookies hail from Germany and were traditionally sweetened with honey, but German immigrants in America substituted molasses. They have all the spice of a gingersnap and a texture that's tender and chewy.
Ingredients
- 1 cup almonds
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/4 cup unsulfured molasses
- 1 large egg
- Finely grated zest of 1 orange
- 1/2 cup dark raisins
- 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped crystallized ginger (optional)
- 1 3/4 cups flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Confectioners' sugar, for glaze
Instructions
- Toast the almonds in a medium-size nonstick skillet over medium-high heat for 6 minutes and set them aside.
- With an electric mixer set on medium speed, beat together the brown sugar, honey, molasses, egg, and orange zest in a mixing bowl until smooth.
- Combine the almonds, raisins, and crystallized ginger, if you're using it (for extra zip), in a food processor. Pulse repeatedly to finely chop the mixture. (You can also finely chop the ingredients by hand.) Stir the nut mixture into the sugar mixture.
- Sift the flour, baking soda, spices, and salt into a separate medium-size bowl. Then stir the dry mixture into the liquid a third at a time, stirring well after each addition. The dough will be quite dense and sticky.
- Scrape the dough onto a well-floured 3-foot-long sheet of plastic wrap. Generously flour the dough. Then, using floured hands, knead the dough several times to smooth it. Flatten the dough into a 1-inch-thick square and wrap it in the plastic. Slide the dough into a plastic bag or wrap it in aluminum foil and chill it until firm, several hours or overnight.
- Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet (preferably not a dark one) with parchment or lightly greased aluminum foil. Set the sheet aside. Transfer the dough to a generously floured sheet of waxed paper and roll it into a 1/4-inch-thick rectangle or square. Cut the dough into cookies that measure about 2 inches square.
- Transfer the squares to the baking sheet, spacing them about an inch apart. Bake the cookies on the center oven rack for 12 to 13 minutes, 1 sheet at a time. When done, the cookies will have formed a crust, but they should still feel soft to the touch. (Tip: The cookies stay chewier if you bake them less and put them in an airtight container while they're still slightly warm. If your family prefers a crisper cookie, just bake them a little longer and let them cool completely before you store them.) Transfer the cookies to a wire rack and, while they are still quite warm, dredge them in confectioners' sugar. When they've cooled completely, dredge them once more. Makes about 18 to 24 cookies.
