Ginger Spice Cookies (Joycelyn)

If you like the flavor of ginger snap cookies you're going to love the yummy chewy texture of these cookies.

cookie recipe by Paula Deen




3/4 C Butter flavored Crisco (not butter)
1 C sugar, plus more for rolling
1 large egg
1/4 C molasses
2 C flour
2 t baking soda
1 t ground cinnamon
1 t ground ginger
1/2 t ground cloves
1/2 t salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

With an electric mixer, combine shortening and sugar and cream until light and fluffy. Add the egg and the molasses and beat until completely incorporated.

Sift or whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and salt;then add to the creamed mixture. Stir until combined. Roll the dough into 1 inch balls and roll in sugar.

Place on cookie sheets.

Bake for 8-10 minutes or until just set around the edges and you start to see "crackling" on the top.
Don't overbake! You want to keep them nice and chewy-soft in the middle.

I did a little twist on this recipe.... so here goes
I took those little one inch balls of ginger spice dough (did not roll these in sugar first) and placed each one in the greased cup of a mini muffin tin. I then pressed the dough to form a cup in the muffin tin and baked them for 9 minutes in the oven.
After they were cooled I put the following filling in each ginger spice cup.
They make a little mini ginger snap cheese cake. Yummmmmmy

Spicy Cream Cheese Filling
1 pkg low fat cream cheese at room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
1 8oz pkg thawed cool whip
2 teaspoons pumpkin spice

Place all ingredients in a mixing bowl and blend with mixer until smooth.
Fill up a pastry bag with this mixture and fill the mini muffin cookies like this....



You can use this filling and just dip the Ginger Spice Cookies in it. It is really yummy that way too. See the picture at the top of this post.