Snacks are always great on a road trip. On a recent trip to Scotland, we were on the way to St. Andrews in a small van. I usually feel fine on road trips, able to read, sleep or just look around. I was conditioned early, from many, many family trips.
I don’t get car sick, so it was unusual that I felt slightly queasy on our road trip. Maybe it was the quick hotel breakfast that morning, the rugged Ford van or our guide Ross’s driving. It may have been because I was peering through the front windows of the van, instead of my side window. I just couldn’t get enough of the country views.
When we stopped in Neuk for a coffee, I wandered into a cute little shop of nick -nacks and snacks. I bought a six pack of large ginger cookies and started munching. Ginger always settles my stomach. A ginger beer later in the day proved the perfect remedy. And the day was perfect as well.
Since I got back from the trip I’ve been thinking about those cookies. They were thick and crunchy, like a cross between a sugar cookie and a gingersnap. This was not a chewy molasses ginger cookie, although I love those too. They were subtle in flavor, not quite spicy enough for me, but I certainly enjoyed them and shared them all weekend. I wish I bought 2 packages!
Back at home I started working on the ginger cookie recipe. I knew I could improve it. A healthy dose of freshly grated ginger definitely upped the spice. They are super simple to bake and to take along anywhere; not too gooey, not too messy, and downright therapeutic.
GINGER ROAD TRIP COOKIES
Makes 25
Be sure to have a fresh supply of ground ginger and cinnamon,
½ pound butter, softened
½ cup sugar
½ cup brown sugar
3 egg yolks
2 tablespoons finely grated fresh ginger ( I used my microplane)
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon cream of tartar
¼ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
topping: ½ cup sugar, 1 teaspoon ground ginger
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Make topping. In a small bowl combine sugar and ground ginger until blended. Set aside.
Make dough. In the bowl of a stand mixer ( or with a hand mixer) cream butter, sugar and brown sugar until light.
Add egg yolks and fresh ginger. Mix until blended.
On low speed, add flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, salt, ground ginger and cinnamon. Mix until well blended. ( Can be made 1-2 days in advance. Cover and refrigerate)
Scoop or roll dough into 1-inch balls. Roll into topping mixture. Place onto parchment lined cookie sheet, spacing each 2-inches apart.
Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until uniformly browned.
Remove cookies from the oven and cool completely.
Store cookies at room temperature in an airtight container.