Guest Post: Lemon Ginger Cookies

I'm on semi-vacation today so our pal Maggie is taking over with this terrific, bright ginger cookie recipe. Make these this weekend and bring them to your block party. You'll be king of the neighborhood in no time.


Even though it’s been spring for weeks now, the nearly nonstop rain has made for a lot of indoor time. The spicy ginger in these cookies is perfect for keeping cozy and the lemon is fresh enough so that you don’t feel like you’re eating Christmas.

Still skeptical about ginger cookies in June? Try ‘em sandwich style with strawberry ice cream.

Lemon Ginger Cookies

Adapted from IFA Daily Food Porn, by Kay Stieger

• 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 4.5 t ground ginger
• 2 t ground cinnamon
• 1 t baking soda
• 1/2 t kosher salt
• 1/4 c unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 c brown sugar
• 1/2 c granulated sugar; more for rolling
• 1/4 c unsulphured molasses
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• 2 t pure vanilla extract
• 1 lemon

In a smallish mixing bowl, stir together the flour, spices, baking soda, and salt. In a larger bowl stir together the butter and sugars until just mixed and then add the molasses, egg, and vanilla, stirring until fully mixed. Mix in the zest and juice of your lemon. (I’m typically pretty liberal when it comes to following recipes and in this one the amount of lemon you add is especially flexible depending on how much you like citrus.) Add the flour mixture to the wet one and incorporate until fully combined. Cover the dough and throw it in the fridge for an hour.

Shortly before removing the dough from the fridge, preheat your oven to 350, line a couple cookie sheets with parchment paper, and pour some sugar in a bowl. Roll small spoonfuls of dough into balls and then roll them in sugar before placing them on the cookie sheet. Bake for about 11 minutes. Let them cool on a cut-open brown paper bag before constructing an ice cream sandwich and fantasizing about how once it stops raining, it’ll be bathing suit season.