Ginger cookies & Mr. Darcy

The newest addition to my family, Mr. Darcy, had quite the first week at my apartment. I adopted him from the shelter and within a few days he became seriously ill. Multiple vet visits, a stay at the pet hospital, and quite a bit of moolah later he is finally home and doing well. Though he still is bit stinky, which makes me finally understand what Phoebe was singing about on all those Friends episodes. He can't quite make up his mind whether he completely trusts me yet. And after 2 baths in a row I can't say I completely blame him.

He also came back from the vet with quite the new haircut. He is definitely going to be the trendsetter for DC cats.

I think we may be getting to a good place as he was my kitchen buddy as I baked some ginger cookies. These are the cookies that my Mom made every Christmas. My mom is not the most savvy person in the kitchen but she has a few tried and true recipes and this is one of them. I was a dork and forgot to add baking soda but I think they turned out fine despite the loss. A couple stayed a bit raw in the center so I may have just eaten those, oops! And by oops I mean yum!

Have a wonderful weekend! Here is the ginger cookie recipe if you're interested.

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup margarine, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 2 tablespoons white sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Sift together the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the margarine and 1 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, then stir in the water and molasses. Gradually stir the sifted ingredients into the molasses mixture. Shape dough into walnut sized balls, and roll them in the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar. Place the cookies 2 inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet, and flatten slightly.
3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.