Craving ginger cookies?

I had been thinking about ginger cookies for a while. Seeing photos of them and thinking about Nanny's soft molasses cookies had me in extreme crave mode. While I love my Nanny's cookie, I decided that what I wanted was a crunchy cookie.

I thought about Martha Stewart's Chocolate Gingersnaps. They look so tempting in the photo in the book, but then opted for Cooking Light's Ginger Cookie since it had less fat and fewer calories! These cookies were really delicious after they had cooled just a bit. Not too sweet and slightly chewy.

The next day these cookies were a little crisper but they still had some "chew" to them. They were great with my hot cup of tea and probably would be just as yummy with some vanilla bean ice cream sandwiched in between.

Ginger Cookies
Cooking Light

6 tablespoons butter, softened
2/3 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar, divided
1/4 cup molasses
1 large egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground mace (I used allspice instead)
Cooking spray

Place butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until fluffy. Gradually add 2/3 cup sugar, beating at medium speed until light and well blended. Add molasses and egg; beat well.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine flour and the next 4 ingredients (through mace), stirring with a whisk. Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture, stirring until well blended. Divide dough in half. Wrap each portion in plastic wrap, and freeze for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350°.

Shape each portion of dough into 26 (1-inch) balls. Roll balls in remaining 3 tablespoons sugar, and place 2 inches apart on baking sheets coated with cooking spray. Flatten cookies with the bottom of a glass to 1/2-inch thickness. Bake at 350° for 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from pans, and cool completely on wire racks.