The Ginger Cookies of life

Let me begin this post by stating that, thanks to my dear friend Jessica's post on winter cravings,

I am no longer craving sweets with the same voracity. Thus, I can now make Holiday cookies

without being a slave to them. With this new freedom in mind I share with you one of my favorite

cookie recipes.

Last Winter during one of my visits to Prof. Hubs in Boston, my friend Evelyn and I found ourselves in her kitchen craving Chrismas cookies. In the end, we couldn't agree on what kind of cookies to make so we decided there was no harm in making two recipes. The Russian Tea cakes were good enough, but it was this Ginger cookie recipe that was the great success of the afternoon. I must have made them 50 times since that fateful afternoon with Evelyn. They are the most perfect, chewy, ginger-y snaps... This week I have been invited to my first cookie swap (girlie night of gossip and cookie noshing? SIGN ME UP!) and I think I may bring these-it will be the second time in 3 days that I've made them...they're that good. I have passed the recipe on to many of my nearest and dearest and here I share it with you:

Ginger Cookies

thank you, thank you, Paula Deen...

xo, Desperate Housediva

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup vegetable shortening
• 1 cup sugar, plus more for rolling
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats. Using an electric mixer at low speed, cream the shortening and sugar until thoroughly combined. Add the egg and molasses and beat until completely incorporated. Sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and salt and add to the mixture. Stir until combined. Roll the dough into balls about 1-inch in diameter. Roll the balls in sugar.

Place 1/2-inch apart on the prepared cookie sheets. Flatten the balls slightly with your fingertips. Bake for 12 minutes. Cool on wire racks.