Ginger Spice Buttons

Oh my goodness, I love cookies. DO I LOVE COOKIES! In fact, just the other day I (ahem) over did it on Thin Mints, courtesy of some charming 8 year-old Girl Scouts. Well OK it wasn’t THEIR fault I ate very nearly the entire box the same day they were delivered to me at work... and they were good, too, they are good every year. But I have to admit, home-made cookies are still better, and I make and consume them as often as possible. In fact I have so many “favorite” cookie recipes that I was hesitant to try this one, thinking of all the similar cookies I already make. However, trusting in Food and Wine magazine, (or perhaps it was one of the last issues of [sniff] Gourmet Magazine), I found a new love! So I am now forced to admit that, though I am a sucker for vintage, I do in fact read the new food publications, and – I EVEN COOK THEIR RECIPES. OK there, I said it, it’s out in the open and we can now move on.

Ginger Spice Buttons. I almost passed this one up. YEP, folks, I ALMOST PASSED THIS ONE UP! I’ll never know what it was that made me rip this page out that fateful day, but I am glad I did. Even though the toasting of the almonds and subsequent pulverization via food processor looked a tad over-zealous, somehow I decided the old Cuisinart needed some attention – or it could be that it was almost Valentines Day and I wanted to express my undying love with sugar. And although the butter had to be softened (not melted = quicker) and the dough would have to chill for one hour (all this means quite some time from start to finish), my love for spice *anything* made me slap that apron on and try them and WOW, I suggest you do the same!


GINGER SPICE BUTTONS:

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
½ cup light brown sugar
2 Tbsp molasses
1 tsp vanilla extract
¼ tsp salt
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ cups lightly toasted blanched almonds, finely ground
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp allspice
Large crystal sugar

1. in a bowl, beat together butter and sugar until smooth, scraping inside of bowl. Beat in molasses, vanilla and salt, then stir in flour, almonds, cornstarch, cinnamon, ginger and allspice. Wrap and chill dough for 1 hour.
2. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Roll dough into 1 inch balls, roll in crystal sugar and place on baking sheets. Bake until bottoms are lightly browned, about 8 min. Cool on pans 3 min. Transfer to wire racks and cool completely. Store airtight up to 5 days. Makes 5 dozen.