RECIPE DOCTOR
Trimming butter from ginger cookies
By Elaine Magee
Knight Ridder News Service
Q. Every year I like to make ginger cookies, and I've had the hardest time finding a recipe that doesn't call for sticks and sticks of butter. Have you developed a lighter ginger cookie by any chance?
A. Ginger cookies happen to be one of my husband's favorite cookies! So, to answer your question, yes, I have baked a lighter ginger cookie. Some folks like them soft, and some like them crunchy. I like baking the soft version, because you can buy the crunchy type anytime you want at the grocery store.
In this soft ginger cookie recipe, we are using a lower-fat, lower-trans-fat margarine (8 grams of fat per tablespoon instead of the 12 grams in butter or shortening). In addition, we are using 1/2 cup instead of 3/4 cup of butter or margarine. And we are replacing all of the lost butter with light pancake syrup or maple syrup, while decreasing the sugar to compensate for this added sweetener.
These cookies don't even have to be flattened out with the bottom of a glass. They melt just perfectly when baked, to make a nice, soft cookie.
The original recipe tells you to roll them into balls and roll them in sugar. This light cookie dough is too soft to do that, so I just used a cookie scoop and sprinkled some sugar crystals over the top. They are so soft and full of flavor!
The original recipe contains 142 calories, 6 grams fat, 3.7 grams saturated fat and 24 milligrams cholesterol per cookie.
Makes 2 dozen (24 servings).
Big Soft Ginger Cookies
- 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup no- or low-trans margarine (with 8 grams fat per tablespoon, such as Land
- O' Lakes Fresh Buttery Taste Spread)
- 1/4 cup maple syrup or light pancake syrup
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup molasses
- 2 tablespoons sugar crystals
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift together the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together the margarine, maple syrup and 3/4 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, then beat in the molasses. Gradually stir the sifted ingredients into the molasses mixture.
Use a cookie scoop to place cookie dough balls 2 inches apart onto a cookie sheet coated with canola cooking spray (don't worry about flattening the dough — it will spread out nicely during cooking).
Bake for about 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.
Per serving (large cookie): 113 calories, 2 grams protein, 19 grams carbohydrate, 2.9 grams fat (0.5 grams saturated fat, 0.8 grams monounsaturated fat, 1.2 grams polyunsaturated fat), 9 milligrams cholesterol, 0.5 grams fiber, 113 milligrams sodium. Calories from fat: 23 percent.
Omega-3 fatty acids: 0.4 grams.
Weight Watchers: 2 points.
Omega-6 fatty acids: 0.8 grams.
Write to Elaine Magee through www.recipedoctor.com. Personal responses cannot be provided.
