Triple Ginger Cookies

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 8 tablespoons (1 sticks) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup chopped dried apricots, preferably unsweetened
• 1/2 cup finely chopped crystallized (candied) ginger
• 1/3 cup dark molasses (robust or blackstrap)
• 2 tablespoons finely grated peeled fresh ginger
• Sanding sugar or turbinado sugar, for rolling (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, pepper, and salt.

2. In a second large bowl, using an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, about 6 minutes. Beat in egg, apricots, crystallized ginger, molasses, and fresh ginger.

3. With the mixer on low speed, beat in flour mixture until well combined.

4. Working in batches, shape dough into 11/2-inch balls (a mini ice-cream scoop makes really easy work of this task) and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet, at least 2 inches apart.

5. Bake until golden brown, 14 to 16 minutes. Let cool on sheet for about 5 minutes. Transfer to a rack and let cool completely.

Source: Samantha Seneviratne, Ten Speed Press