Hot Cookie - the Archive

I keep seasonings on two lazy Susans next to the measuring cups. Among them are all the spices in these cookies--cinnamon, ginger and cloves. The label "Fall Spices" graces that particular shelf. Sparkling sugar topping on left, granulated on right. I usually think about this type of cookie later in the year when I'm breaking out the wool sweaters and the leaves start to fall. When I made these--just a couple of weeks ago--summer hadn't started. These cookies were welcome. Everyone has a favorite ginger cookie and these are some of the best of their type. I love everything in them. Beyond the spices, the other flavors blend without overpowering each other. Who can go wrong with a little brown sugar and molasses? The instructions say to bake them for 7-8 minutes, a little less for a chewy cookie, my personal favorite. If you want a crisp cookie, add 2 minutes to the cooking time. Easy. The recipe calls for dipping the tops in sugar just before baking. I wo...

Cookies topped with sparkling sugar on left, granulated sugar on right. This cookie is almost as satisfying as the vanilla scent that fills the kitchen while baking.  Similar to the Christmas Butter Cookies, egg yolks contribute to their light, crumbly texture. The name is a reference to the long thin device that guides yarn back and forth across the warp in weaving (or a device on a sewing machine). But these cookies look nothing like their name. Frankly, I would not expect anyone to take one look at these cookies and say, "I know - a weaving shuttle." Not happening. Butter, eggs and vanilla await kneading into dry flour, sugar and salt mixture. I wonder if the recipe or cookie shape goes back to an era of early weavers, or if this was a 1950's invention for the magazine. The Cookie Book calls them "cigar-shaped," not an image I'd evoke to sell a cookie. The making is easy. After rolling bits of dough into, shall we say, a small slug shape (I ...