Ginger Cookies

I made these for a recent cookie exchange and they were a HIT!   

This recipe makes 24 cookies.

INGREDIENTS

    * 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
    * 2 teaspoons ground ginger
    * 1 teaspoon baking soda
    * 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
    * 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
    * 1/4 teaspoon salt
    * 3/4 cup margarine, softened
    * 1 cup white sugar
    * 1 egg
    * 1 tablespoon water
    * 1/4 cup molasses
    * 2 tablespoons white sugar

DIRECTIONS

   1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
   2. Sift together the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Set aside.
   3. In a large bowl, cream together the margarine and 1 cup sugar until light and fluffy.
   4. Beat in the egg, then stir in the water and molasses.
   5. Gradually stir the sifted ingredients into the molasses mixture. 
   6. Shape dough into walnut sized balls, and roll them in the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar.
   7. Place the cookies 2 inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet, and flatten slightly with a fork.
   8. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven.
   9. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
  10. Store in an airtight container.

NOTES

• My oven sucks, so usually I have to bake for about 15 minutes…  but if you have a nicer oven you can get away with 10 minutes only. You want them to look golden brown, but not too dark a golden color (then they’ll be crunchy).
• When making your little cookie balls, they get really sticky to your fingers.  Put dusting of flour on your hands will help the dough to not be sticky on your fingers.
• Flattening the dough with a fork also has that same "sticky" problem. The dough wants to stick to the fork instead of the pan.  I pat the back of my fork in sugar to solve that problem.
• I always use way more than 2 TB (total) of sugar to coat all of the cookie balls.  But we are sugar-holics here. LOL  Use more or less to your tastes for sweetness on the outside of the cookie ball.
• Storing in an air-tight container helps them to not get too hard.  They stay softer stored that way.
• You may want to double or even triple the recipe…  these cookies go fast!