Heirloom

This recipe started out as an approximation of what my grandmother would toss into a mixing bowl — “a little of this, a pinch of that” interpreted and transcribed by me into “cups” and “teaspoons”. After making many batches over several years, I finally tweaked it to a point where I was content to add it to my “Family Recipes” cookbook, and now I’m going to share it with you. It makes a large batch of wonderfully crisp cookies with a nice gingery bite.

Given my grandmother turns 90 this spring, it’s safe to say that this recipe is over 100 years old. The dough is pretty sticky, but the cookies are best when only a scant amount of flour is used when rolling it out for cutting — refrigerating the dough first helps quite a bit.

If you are like me, you like traditional cookie recipes that make a huge batch — the kind of cookies that only get better the longer they manage to stay in the cookie tin.

This recipe requires your largest bowl — something I love, as it’s the perfect excuse to get out the gigantic old stoneware mixing bowl that belonged to an elderly neighbour when I was a child. It makes up to 7 dozen cookies that only get moister and chewier the longer they last.