John Clower is sharing his ginger cookie recipe with The Mountain-Ear readers. You may have tasted these when he was selling them at the Train Cars a few years ago. They are big and soft and chewy and absolutely delicious.

Dry ingredients:

·       2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

·       1 1/2 Tbsp ground ginger

·       1 tsp baking soda

·      3/4 tsp cinnamon   

·      1/4 tsp ground cloves or cardamom

·      1/4 tsp salt

·       2 Tbsp granulated sugar or sanding sugar (set aside)

·       Zest of an orange or lemon – lemon is the better choice

or

·       1 tsp lemon extract added to wet ingredients.

Wet ingredients:

·       3/4 cup butter or margarine, softened

·       1 cup granulated sugar

·       1 large egg at room temperature

·       1 Tbsp water or orange juice

·       1/4 cup molasses

 Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Sift together all dry ingredients except for the sugar.

Cream together butter and 1 cup sugar until light and fluffy.

Beat in the egg, then mix in water or juice and molasses.

Gradually mix in the dry ingredients.

Place dough in refrigerator for 30 minutes to firm up.

Spread 2 Tbsp sugar crystals in a plate. Shape dough into walnut-sized balls and roll each in sugar to coat.

Place cookies 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet and flatten slightly.

Bake for 10-11  minutes.

Allow cookies to cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Store in an airtight container. Yields about 24 cookies.