It somehow all gets done, and while I had my doubts this year, the house sparkles and the decorations, save for a small glitch with the color of poinsettias that were delivered, are everything what I wanted them to be. Christmas has come to this Oregon hillside. We've even had a bit of snow and for the last two mornings, the ridge line that fronts our home has been a pristine white. Oregon snow, at least at our elevation is a rare and short lived event, so it is especially nice to have it fall at Christmas time. The baking for our Sunday brunch is done and the breads and cookies I'll be serving are in the freezer waiting for the big thaw. The savories will involve a last minute push, but I'm up to that now that I can see all else is done. I'm actually looking forward to my own party. As I surveyed my kingdom tonight, I realized only one thing kept the moment from being perfect. The house needed cinnamon and ginger to balance the fragrance of the fir that was permeating the rooms on its first floor. The double ginger snaps I'm featuring tonight come from a recipe developed for Williams-Sonoma. They are next to no work to make, so I decided to bake a batch. While I combined wet and dry ingredients, the Silver Fox chopped ginger and our combined effort put cookies in the oven in less than 20 minutes. We were like kids waiting for them to cool. Simplicity has become important to me as I grow older and I love easy recipes that produce delicious result. This is one of those recipes. It makes a chewy, fragrant holiday cookie that I think you'll enjoy. My only caution regards the amount of time it takes to bake them. Time in the original recipe was grossly understated and my cookies needed almost 20 minutes to bake. These are wonderful with milk or a freshly brewed cup of coffee. I do hope you'll try the recipe. The cookies are easy to make and they are a wonderful old-world addition to your holiday cookie tray. Here's how they are made.

Double Ginger Snaps

Ingredients:

2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1-1/2 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup canola oil

1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1/3 cup dark molasses

1 whole egg, lightly beaten, plus 1 egg white

3/4 cup chopped crystallized ginger

1/2 cup coarse sugar crystals

Directions:

1) Preheat an oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly grease 2 cookie sheets or line them with parchment paper.

2) Sift flour, ground ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.

3) In a large bowl, use a wooden spoon to stir oil, brown sugar and molasses until they are well blended. Add whole egg and beat to combine. Stir in flour mixture

In a large bowl, using a wooden spoon, stir together the oil, brown sugar and molasses until well blended. Add the whole egg and stir until blended. Fold in flour mixture, then stir in crystallized ginger.

4) Beat egg white in a small bowl. Spread sugar crystals in a shallow bowl. Shape dough into 1-inch balls with dampened hands. Brush each ball lightly with egg white and roll in sugar to coat lightly.

5) Place cookies 2-inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Bake until tops of cookies are set and crackled, about 15 to 18 minutes. Transfer baking sheets to wire racks and let cool for 5 minutes, then remove cookies from pans and place on wire rack until completely cool. The cookies will firm as they cool. Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

One Year Ago Today: Figgy Pudding

Two Years Ago Today:  Fresh Fettuccini with Corn Pesto

Three Years Ago Today: Linzer Cookies