“For it is good to be children sometimes, and never better than at Christmas, when its mighty Founder was a child Himself.” - Charles Dickens
When I was a little girl in fleece pajamas and pink slippers, I sat by the Christmas tree and drank a demitasse of decaffeinated coffee, to which I had added an exorbitant amount of cream. Meanwhile my mother sipped at her large mug, and together we submerged our cookies into the fragrant coffee.
At Christmas time cookies were breakfast. Cookies were afternoon snack and cookies were what you nibbled on while Mother read our favorite Christmas books.
Christmas baking may very well be my favorite part of the holiday season. Bing Crosby is serenading me with “White Christmas”and I poorly sing along while managing to get more icing on my apron than on the cookies. (My apron tastes delicious.)
I’m a huge fan of ginger snaps and molasses cookies - these cookies fall somewhere in between.
Like all good things, these cookies begin with butter.
Make some cookies, drink some coffee. And if you feel like you want wear fleece pajamas and pink slippers while doing so, I’ll totally join you.
Sincerely,
Pedantic Foodie
Ginger Lemon Thumbprint Cookies
makes about 2 dozen
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 3 tablespoons molasses
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup raw course sugar
- 1 cup lemon curd
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
In the bowl of your stand mixer cream together butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Add molasses and egg - beat to combine.
In a separate bowl sift to combine flour, baking powder, salt, and spices.
Slowly incorporate dry ingredients into the wet mixture while continuing to beat. Refrigerate the dough for 20 minutes.
Portion the dough into 1 ounce balls and roll in course sugar. Place the balls on a baking sheet lined with parchment and press with your thumb to make an indentation in the center of each cookie.
Bake the cookies for 15 minutes or until the edges are deep golden. Allow the cookies to cool before filling each center with lemon curd. Enjoy!
