GINGERSNAPS WITH FRESH GINGER

Few people remember the taste of REAL gingersnaps. If you’ve taken the time to read the label on a bag of gingersnaps, you’ll know that the genuine article just isn’t available in most stores. Not only that, but most recipes don’t even use fresh ginger root.

Now’s the time to fill the house with the smell of genuine homemade gingersnaps!

KAY’S GINGERSNAPS

NOTE: You will want to take the time to use fresh ginger root and coconut oil for this recipe. Coconut oil will give your cookies a snappy crunchiness that will make them quickly disappear. These can be frozen for serving later. . . . Otherwise you might find that they are gone before you get a chance to share them!

In a large bowl mix the following ingredients:

• 4 cups finely ground whole wheat flour
• 1 Tablespoon Arm & Hammer baking soda
• 1 teaspoon finely ground sea salt
• 2 cups sucanat
• 6 Tablespoons (or as much as ½ cup) finely ground fresh organic ginger root
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 4 large eggs

In a small pan gently melt (don’t heat or cook) 1 ½ cup coconut oil and ½ cup unsulfured blackstrap molasses. Add this to the ingredients in your bowl. Make sure the oil is not too hot or you will cook the eggs!

Mix until completely combined. Cover and place the bowl into the refrigerator overnight.

TO BAKE:
Place your oven racks on the lower and middle level. Preheat the oven to 350°F
Line 3 or 4 cookie sheets with parchment paper. You can use pizza pans.

Make balls out of the cookie dough that are the size of one level tablespoon. The dough is stiff, so you may need to measure the first one and use a sturdy spoon to dig out the rest in sizes that match the first. Roll the dough between your hands. Use coconut oil on your hands to help keep it from sticking badly, but expect to get some on your hands.

Roll the balls in more sucanat and place onto the cookie sheets.

Rub some coconut oil onto the flat bottom of a glass. Use this to mash the balls of cookie dough down flat. Reapply a bit of coconut oil to the glass after pressing each cookie. Space the cookies 1 ½ to 2 inches apart on the parchment paper.

When one pan is ready, place it onto the lowest shelf in your oven and set the timer for 7 minutes.

After 7 minutes, move the pan from the bottom shelf to the upper shelf and place another pan on the bottom.

Set the timer for another 7 minutes.
When the timer goes off, remove the upper pan (the one that has been in the oven a total of 14 minutes) and set it aside to cool. Move the lower pan to the upper shelf and place the next pan of cookies on the lower shelf.

As each pan is removed from the oven, let it rest a minute and then move the cookies to a cooling rack. Let the pan cool, re-using the parchment paper for the next batch.

In this way, you’ll have 100 cookies cooling within an hour. Actually, the recipe makes a few more than 100 cookies, but by the time you finish taste testing, you SHOULD have 100.

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Below find a short video on Ginger Root's benefits.
Also read BENEFITS OF GINGER ROOT.

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THE GIFT OF GIVING

More than 25 years ago, a friend gave me a decorative ceramic tile for my kitchen. The tile is a trivet that protects the counter from hot plates and pots. This little tile has survived several moves, been glued back together and lost the loop on its back for hanging, but it remains in a place of honor.

On the face of the tile are two lines from the end of a poem called “The Art of Living.” Even today, these words touch me deeply because there is something precious in being able to give something to those we encounter. I remember loathing occasions where I was expected to bring something to share because I always focused on my lack. I reached a turning point when I started looking at what I DID have.

TIME
The gift of time is a most precious thing. It takes very little in material wealth to be able to make someone else feel special. One of my children still has memories of the week that he fell asleep each night listening to the sound of a used sewing machine chugging along. He was surprised with a super-hero costume, complete with a cape. A couple of months ago, I was organizing a closet and found where he had kept the mask and a shirt I’d made him those many years ago.

SKILLS
My grandmother used to spend several weeks each year crocheting treasures that were given to her dear ones at Christmas. She was never rushed or pressed and she made creative use of the materials she had.

THINK CREATIVELY
Creativity requires me to first be grateful for what I DO have and then ask myself how I might share it. Only then can I focus on the possibilities. Used and free items can be given a second life by personalizing them with a coat of paint or other decorative items. How many kids do you know that would love a custom-painted bicycle or a hand-stenciled chair? Because creativity requires a little planning, you’ll have to train yourself to look for opportunities. What skills do you have? Can you get a small item and add to it? Are there some materials on sale in the off season that can be used later? Is there someone that would benefit from your extras? Do you know someone that would love to give their old craft items, sewing supplies or tools a good home?

PASSING IT ON
As I’ve gotten older, it has been my goal to not just make the special moments happen for my children, but to involve them in the preparation so that they too enjoy the gift of giving. While I might be learning a particular craft/skill, my children are helping design labels and packaging and then enjoying the fun of sharing those gifts with those we encounter. Often, we make items with no particular person in mind. We might spend a couple of hours baking cookies while we enjoy trying to guess who will cross our paths that we might bless.

We’ve found that it is great fun to give things to people that weren’t expecting it. . . . and I believe that you become richer in the process.

Oh, the poem? Here it is. I’ve not been able to discover the author’s name.

THE ART OF LIVING
To touch the cup with eager lips and taste, not drain it;
To woo and tempt and count a bliss, and not attain it;
To fondle and caress a joy, yet hold it lightly;
To watch the sunset in the west without regretting;
To hail its advent in the east, the night forgetting;
To smother care in happiness, and grief in laughter;
To hold the present close, not questioning the hereafter;
To have enough to share, to know the joy of giving;
To thrill with all the sweets of life -- that's living.

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AMAZING LOVE!

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