Ginger Cookies

Ginger cookies in the summer? What the what? It's too hot out. We should be eating citrus, or fruit, or something cooling. To that I say pfssshhh. Because when I showed up to a friend's get together with these, they were gone fast. And although people told me directly how much they loved them, I also heard them telling each other. I'll admit that I do tend to keep kind of hippy-dippy friends, but none of them suspected that these were made spelt flour and dried apricots. Because they're also made with chocolate and molasses.

This is another one from Heidi Swanson's new book Super Natural Every Day, and it's another winner (shocking, I know). Swanson, being so much more virtuous than I am, confesses that these are the sweetest cookies she makes. They're definitely not the sweetest cookie I've ever made, but they don't suffer from lack of sugar, either. Therefore, she suggests baking them small so you can eat more than one at a time.

And in other news, the Highline in NYC has been extended. And if you're into unique views of the city, this is the place to find them. Don't be surprised if you see a mini-series of pictures from there in the next few weeks.

Ginger Cookies
Adapted from Heidi Swanson's Super Natural Every Day

70 grams turbinado sugar
170 grams 70 percent bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
230 grams spelt flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 tablespoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
115 grams unsalted butter, cut into small chunks
1/4 cup blackstrap molasses
100 grams sugar
2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
1 large egg, beaten
170 grams dried apricots, finely chopped

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, ground ginger and salt. Set aside.

Heat the butter in a pot over medium heat until it just melts, then stir in the molasses, the regular sugar and the grated fresh ginger. Make sure the mixture is only just warm, and definitely not hot enough to cook an egg, which you'll be adding next. If it's too hot, let it sit off the heat for a moment, and then add the beaten egg. Pour this molasses mixture over the waiting flour mixture and fold in the apricots. Next stir in the chocolate and chill the dough for 30 minutes so that it has a chance to stiffen up to a point that it can be rolled into balls.

Preheat the oven to 350F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Pour the turbinado sugar into a shallow bowl and set aside. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and measure it out in level tablespoons. Roll the dough between your hands until it forms a nice ball, then roll the ball in the waiting turbinado sugar. Place the balls a couple of inches apart on the baking sheets.

Bake two sheets at a time for 7-10 minutes (longer if you got impatient and made cookies larger than level tablespoons). The cookies will puff up and crack a bit on top. The bottoms should be a deep golden color and they will be quite fragrant. Transfer to wire racks to cool.