Bready or Not: Soft Lemon-Ginger Cookies Redux
Today we’re returning to a Soft Lemon-Ginger Cookies recipe I last featured in July 2017! Why let something delicious wallow in the archives, right?
This is a great dough to make hours or days ahead; just stash it in the fridge until baking time. Coolness also makes the sticky dough easier to work with.
The lemon brings in a fresh element, while the ginger delivers the right amount of heat. These are sweet and refreshing cookies overall.
The one modification I made in this redux is that you can use sour cream or Greek yogurt. Both products contribute moisture, fat, and acid.
Bready or Not: Soft Lemon-Ginger Cookies Redux
Equipment
- teaspoon scoop or teaspoon
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick) softened
- 1 cup brown sugar packed
- 1 egg
- 3 Tablespoons sour cream or vanilla or plain Greek yogurt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon extract
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- If baking right away, preheat oven at 350-degrees.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix together the butter and brown sugar until they gain a fluffy texture. Beat in the egg, sour cream or yogurt, and extracts.
- In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, ginger, and salt; make sure to press any lumps out of the cream of tartar and ginger. Slowly mix the dry ingredients into the other bowl. At this point, the dough can be wrapped and chilled for a few hours or days; this will also reduce the dough's stickiness somewhat.
- When it is baking time, be sure to preheat the oven. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto a baking sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the cookies are lightly browned and no longer jiggly. Watch out–they can overbake quickly. Let them rest on the cookie sheet for just a few minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool.
OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not Original: Date Drop Cookies
If you’re in need of a old-fashioned homey cookie, these Date Drop Cookies may be just what you need.
They won’t win any awards in the looks department, but you know what? They are GOOD. Quite similar to a soft, chewy oatmeal cookies, but with chopped dates instead of raisins.
I used kitchen shears to chop up dates from a big container from Costco. If you use pre-cut dates, such as from a bin, those will be good in this recipe, albeit a not quite as soft.
These should keep for at least a few days in a sealed container at room temperature.
Bready or Not Original: Date Drop Cookies
Equipment
- parchment paper
- teaspoon or teaspoon scoop
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick) softened
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar packed
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 1/4 cup milk or half & half
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup quick oats
- 1 cup chopped dates
- 3/4 cups chopped walnuts
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and brown sugar. Beat in the eggs, milk, and vanilla. Fold in the oats, dates, and walnuts.
- Using a teaspoon or teaspoon scoop, place round dollops of dough spaced out on the baking sheet. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until cookies are set. Transfer them to a rack to completely cool. Store in a sealed container at room temperature.
OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not: Farmer’s Cheese Cookies
These Farmer’s Cheese Cookies don’t taste cheesy as one would expect in a gooey, cheese-pull kind of way. Instead, the cheese here adds a touch of savory flavor and a lot of light, chewy texture.
Cookies like this are traditional in Ukraine and Russia. I found a nice block of Ukrainian Tvorog Farmer’s Cheese at Lee Lee Grocery on 75th Ave in Phoenix; check your own local import markets for similar cheese.
Expect a dry, crumbly texture in the cheese. Mine became somewhat powdery as I broke it down, which was fine. I was able to incorporate everything with an extra touch of water, which is a pretty common thing for me to do with roll-out cookies in Phoenix. It’s very dry here compared to most other places.
The end result is a cookie that, quite honestly, tastes fancy–light, crisp, sugary, like something that one would find in a fine bakery. Most people wouldn’t guess there’s cheese in the dough, I bet, but they’ll know there’s something different about them. Something delicious.
Bready or Not: Farmer’s Cheese Cookies
Equipment
- grater or food processor
- pastry blender
- 3-inch round cutter or the top of a glass
- parchment paper
- saucer or bowl
- Rolling Pin
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter 2 sticks, chilled
- 8 oz farmer's cheese such as Ukrainian Tvorog cheese
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 egg yolks
- 2-3 Tablespoons water
- 1 1/2 cups white sugar
Instructions
- Grate the butter using a hand grater or a grater attachment on a food processor. In a large bowl, use a pastry blender to cut in the cheese, which will be crumbly. Add the flour, followed by the yolks and water. Knead the dough until it comes together in a cohesive mass.
- Form the dough into a disc and encase it in plastic wrap to chill for anywhere from an hour to several days.
- When it’s cookie time, preheat oven at 375-degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Place a small amount of water in a saucer or bowl. Measure the white sugar into a deep bowl.
- Prepare a clean work surface with a dusting of flour. Break off some of the dough and roll it into a thin layer, like for a pie crust. Use the cutter to slice out 3-inch rounds; place the leftover and unused dough to chill in the fridge while cookies are shaped.
- Dampen fingers in the prepared water. Brush wet fingers over one side of a dough round. Dip moist dough into the sugar to coat it. Fold in half with the sugared portion on the inside. Dampen fingers and stroke another folded side of the dough, and dip that in sugar. Fold a final time with the sugared section on the inside. Use wet fingers on outside of cookie and coat that in sugar, too. Gently press the pleats together to prevent them from unfolding during baking. Place formed cookie on sheet and repeat process with remaining rounds.
- Bring together dough scraps, using a little water if needed, to roll out again. Use rest of dough to form cookies.
- Bake in batches for 19 to 22 minutes, until puffed and set with a golden base. Store in a sealed container at room temperature.
OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not: Cheesecake-Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies
These Cheesecake-Stuffed Chocolate Cookies are big, rich, and incredible. You get a core of cream cheese surrounded by chocolate-laden dough. I mean, come on.
For this recipe, you need to make the dough and filling in advance. I made them a day ahead, but you want at least a few hours of refrigeration time. You also chill the cookie dough right after it’s shaped. That means you need some empty room in the fridge for doing this recipe.
This is also a recipe where you really do need a tablespoon and teaspoon scoop to produce even cookies. That, or you just naturally have a good eye for estimating such things.
Modified from Allrecipes Magazine Feb/March 2022.
Bready or Not: Cheesecake-Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies
Equipment
- tablespoon and teaspoon scoops
- fridge space
- parchment paper
Ingredients
Filling
- 8 ounces cream cheese room temperature
- 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
Cookie Dough
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter (1 and a half sticks) room temperature
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 3/4 cup brown sugar packed
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 1/4 cups plus 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 12 ounces chocolate chips
Instructions
Make the filling
- Beat together the cream cheese and confectioners' sugar to make a smooth mixture with few if any lumps. Stash it in the fridge to chill for a few hours or overnight.
Make the cookie dough
- Beat together the butter and both sugars until they are creamy. Add the eggs and vanilla.
- In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Gradually pour this into the butter mixture, scraping the bottom of the bowl to make certain everything is combined. Fold in the chocolate chips. Chill the dough in the fridge for a few hours or overnight.
Baking the cookies
- Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Also, make room in the fridge for a small baking pan or plates on which the formed cookies will chill.
- Scoop out a tablespoon of cookie dough. Use a thumb to hollow out the center. Scoop out about 3/4 teaspoon of cream cheese mix using the smaller scoop. Place that inside the hollow. Fold the dough to enclose it, adding additional pinches of dough as needed to form a seal. You don't want any cream cheese visible, or it could ooze out! Flatten cookies between palms to make a fat disc. Set in fridge to chill as more cookies are shaped.
- Once all the cookies are shaped, pull out the coldest cookie balls to set, spaced out, on the baking sheet. Keep the remaining cookie balls chilled while the initial batch(es) bake.
- Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, until the cookies are golden. Let them rest on the sheet for 5 to 10 minutes, then transfer them to a rack to completely cool.
- Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not: Big Soft Ginger Cookies
These Big Soft Ginger Cookies are delicious any time of year!
These things taste like gingerbread. They are soft, chewy, and fragrant, with a delicate crunch from the coarse sugar topping. They are good on their own, or with a hot drink!
These take some planning, as the dough is soft and could use some chill time. Make it a little bit ahead of when you plan to bake. A few hours will do; overnight is great, too. Then bake away!
Modified from Allrecipes Magazine Dec/Jan 2014 issue.
Bready or Not: Big Soft Ginger Cookies
Equipment
- baking sheet
- parchment paper
- tablespoon scoop
- plastic wrap or sealed bag
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 unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks) room temperature
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1 Tablespoon water
- 1/4 cup molasses
- 3/4 cup coarse sugar such as turbinado
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Set aside.
- In a big bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg followed by the water and molasses. Slowly mix in the dry ingredients, scraping the bottom of the bowl a few times.
- Once everything is mixed, encase the dough in plastic wrap and chill in fridge for a few hours or a day or two.
- When ready to bake, preheat oven at 350-degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment. Measure coarse sugar into a bowl.
- Using a tablespoon scoop or tablespoon, shape dough into small balls. Roll dough in coarse sugar. Set spaced-out on prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until cookies are set and starting to crinkle across the top. Let rest on sheet for another 10 minutes, then transfer to a rack to fully cool. Store in a sealed container at room temperature.
OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not Original: Chocolate Chai Snickerdoodles
I reinvent Snickerdoodles on a regular basis, and here’s a fun new take: Chocolate Chai Snickerdoodles.
The flavor of these is chocolate-forward, followed by the warm combination of spices. The combo is fantastic, and the texture of the cookies is soft and chewy.
I highly recommend mixing up the sugar and spices a day or so in advance. There is such a variety involved that the measuring and washing of the measuring spoon ends up being the most tedious aspect of the entire recipe.
Bready or Not Original: Chocolate Chai Snickerdoodles
Equipment
- parchment paper
- baking sheet
- teaspoon scoop
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups white sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
- 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks) room temperature
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup baking cocoa sifted
- 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven at 350-degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment. Combine the first six ingredients; reserve a 1/2 cup in a separate bowl.
- Beat the butter until soft. Add the bulk of the spice mix, continuing to beat until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla.
- In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, cream of tartar, baking powder, and salt. Slowly work this into the butter mix.
- Use a teaspoon scoop or spoon to form small balls. Roll them in the reserved sugar-spice mix. Set them spaced out on the baking sheet.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Due to the cocoa, it is hard to gauge doneness by color, so look for them to be set with some light crackling. These don’t crackle as much as standard snickerdoodles, though. Let them rest on the sheet for about 10 minutes, then transition them to a rack to completely cool.
- Store in a sealed container at room temperature.
