Yellowstone Gingersnaps

When Matt and I visited Yellowstone in the summer of 2009, we stayed at a little bed and breakfast called Headwaters of the Yellowstone. The owners were awesome, everything you would want from B&B proprietors. The husband is a park ranger, the wife grew up in the park (we're talking, lived deep in the park where they got snowed in three months of the year) and had all sorts of stories to tell and knowledge to impart. But while the accommodations were great, the breakfast half of the B&B was the real star of the show. Charissa can cook! And man did we eat! (It turns out that I was a couple weeks pregnant with Violet and didn't know it - those breakfasts still live on in our memories!) And fortunately for those of you who can't get out to Yellowstone just yet, she also shares some of her most popular recipes on her blog, including the one for gingersnaps.

The recipe makes a ton, but that's okay by us. We whipped up a batch of dough this past weekend, some to make immediately and the rest to freeze for a rainy day. I screwed up initially by forgetting to cream the sugar and butter together (I added the sugar in with the dry ingredients, forgetting that when baking, sugar is actually considered a wet ingredient. Silly me. Oh well, at least flour is cheap.)  I got things back under control though. If you do decide to make these, I definitely recommend chilling the dough before forming the cookies - it is much easier to handle after a dip in the refrigerator. And a cookie scoop will speed up the process. We broke ours on this recipe the last time we made it, so I just used my old-fashioned fingers, which worked fine, just took a little longer.

Right away we remembered why we dig these gingersnaps so much. I love seeing the way the sugar-dipped tops get all cracked and toasted, and the hint of black pepper gives these 'snaps just the right bite. Definitely check out the recipe if you're looking for another holiday cookie to add to your arsenal.

Dipped in sugar, ready for the oven.

Fresh out of the oven.

Sugar and spice and everything nice.