Gingerbread Cookies

Whether someone wants to or not, the holidays make them reflect upon their family. My maternal great-grandmother was Austrian-German. Standing about four feet and some inches tall, she lived in a tiny little house in Chicago and didn't speak much English but she taught my grandmother how to make great cookies!  While I feel lucky to have some of those recipes, I'm even more grateful for the kindness of my Grandmother and how she made me feel truly loved- whatever I said or did!  My mother was not a good every day cook.  She worked full time, had three children, and spread herself way too thin.  But, when she had the time, she loved to make gourmet meals. I got my interest in cooking and entertaining from my mom because that was one thing we had in common and enjoyed doing together.  I loved helping her prepare for wedding showers, baby showers, and dinner parties. The cookies posted here, are in honor of my grandma's style of cooking- simple, old fashioned, but tasty.

Old Fashioned Gingerbread Cookies

Ingredients for 3 dozen chewy, delicious cookies:

1 stick butter (1/2 cup)

1 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup white sugar

1 tablespoon dark molasses

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 1/2 teaspoon allspice

1/8 teaspoon cardamom

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

Some sugar for sprinkling

Directions:

With an electric mixer, mix the butter and two sugars together until they are well creamed.  Add the molasses, vanilla, and eggs. Beat well.  Stir in the dry ingredients a bit at a time until they are entirely combined with the wet mixture.  Cover and chill the dough for at least an hour.  Line a cookie sheet with foil.  Shape the dough into walnut sized balls and space them out on the cookie sheet.  Using the bottom of a glass, press down on each ball to flatten it into a 1/4 inch thick circle. Sprinkle each circle with white granulated sugar.  Bake at 350 degrees for 12 to 15  minutes or until cookies are slightly browned around the edges.