6/4/13

Snaps, Two Ways

I'm continuing with my goal to bake my way through the decades of recipes I've torn out of magazines, deciding what to keep and what to recycle. In general, I only share a recipe here on the blog if I've put my own unique spin on it, as is the case today. I came across a recipe for cookies called "Cinnamon Snaps" by Cathy Cain, published in Country Woman (March/April 2001). Basically, they're Ginger Snaps with cinnamon instead of ginger. Intriguing!  

I followed the recipe exactly (so totally unlike me) right up until the point where you add the cinnamon. At that point, I split the batter in two, using the kitchen scale to make sure it was evenly divided. I added the cinnamon to one batch (halving it, of course), then baked up the cookies. Delicious!   


Cinnamon Snaps

I went to the cupboard and dug through our spices. Besides cinnamon or ginger, what would be tasty in a cookie? Steve and I had great fun giggling about the possibility of Onion Powder Snaps, Paprika Snaps, Red Pepper Flake Snaps, or Beef Bouillon Snaps. I settled on cloves and measured out a heaping teaspoon into the half-batch of cookie dough. That's a lot of cloves.

I baked up the cookies. Their appearance was identical to the Cinnamon Snaps, as you can see.   

Clove Snaps 

I brought both sets of cookies to our friends' house. Seven tasters tried each cookie side by side. There was lots of praise for both. Each was tasty and flavorful. The Cinnamon Snaps were far more subtle; the Clove Snaps had a much more pronounced gingerbread flavor (despite having no ginger in them). But as each person announced which cookie they preferred, it was obvious that the Clove Snaps were the clear winner. Here is the full-batch recipe.


Clove Snaps

                                                 3/4 c. shortening                                         2-1/4 c. flour  
                                                 1 c. packed brown sugar                            2 tsp. baking soda
                                                 1 egg                                                              2 tsp. ground cloves
                                                 1/4 c. molasses                                            1/2 tsp salt
                                                 granulated sugar

Cream shortening and brown sugar. Add egg and molasses. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cloves, and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture. Roll into 1-inch balls, then roll in granulated sugar. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until tops are cracked and cookies are set.  

7 comments:

  1. Thank you for not bringing the onion powder ones! ;-) The clove ones were awesome and I'll definitely make them.

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  2. I love ginger snaps... but clove snaps....hmmmm...IDK!
    But if your friends liked them I guess they must be good!
    They both certainly LOOK yummy!

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  3. If you like ginger snaps, you'll like this recipe. Most gingersnaps have clove as a significant part of the spices anyway.

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  4. I might just try these...looks yummy. I am smiling picturing you and Steve tickled over the different possibilities. I think cookie dough and random spices have a place in a future mystery basket at your house:)

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  5. YUM!! I love the experimentation.... probably good that you skipped the less traditional options ;) LOL

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  6. I love gingerbread snaps. I like cloves so these sound pretty good to me. :) Red pepper flake snaps would have been interesting...

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