I LOVE THE HOLIDAYS! Literally, I love the holidays. I love everything about them…and I especially love that moment when I hear the first Christmas song of the Season. This year, it was November 16, at right around noon; I was at LAX (Los Angeles International Airport) on my way to New Orleans when I heard my first Fa la la la la. I know November 16th seems a bit early….but in LA, where winter temperatures seem to sit somewhere between a crisp 72 and a balmy 75 degrees, we long for anything that suggests that Christmas is on its way….and November 16th is OK by me!
Growing up, my family has always been big into Christmas and soon after Thanksgiving, if you entered our house, you would feel like you had entered into a Winter wonderland. The holiday season would begin with the first subtle, nonchalant suggestion by my mom about putting up a Christmas tree. If you didn’t know my mom, you’d think nothing of it. Shortly thereafter, however, I would hear the faint, subtle voice of a woman in distress. I would trace the noise all the way down to the basement where I would find my mom in the crawlspace, attempting to drag out one of the now 143 boxes of Christmas decorations that seemed to multiply each season. Box after box after box. I never saw my parents actually buy a single decoration in my entire life, but somehow, there were always about 10 new boxes that would spring up each year.
And once my mom placed the finishing touches on her Simpich doll display, cooking could commence…and soon thereafter, the smell of ginger would fill the air. Ahhhh! Christmas has arrived at the Fucci house.
Like the Christmas season, I LOVE THESE COOKIES! They’re fat-free which, while not an excuse to overindulge, do help to make these cookies a touch lighter than their full fat counterpart. But you won’t miss a single element of the taste. And since I like my cookies chewy rather than crunchy, these are the perfect recipe for me. If you like soft, warm and chewy cookies, I know you’ll love them too.
Don’t feel like you have to stick to the standard round Ginger Cookie though. Experiment, make ginger bread people or cut them into traditional holiday shapes. If you’ve got ‘em, get the kids involved. Even making the standard rounds, they’ll love rolling them into the sugar! These cookies are perfect to decorate! I have found that Royal Icing pairs really nice with them…but, hey, the sky’s the limit! Bring your own creativity to it and please share with us your creations!
I hope that you will give these cookies a try. You might just find a new holiday tradition! Please leave a comment and let us know what creative cookie creations you made…and please send us pictures of your Tiny Kitchen creations.
Fat-Free Ginger Cookies
Ingredients
SO WHAT YOU'RE GONNA NEED IS
- 2 1/4 Cups Flour
- 2 1/2 teaspoons Ground Ginger
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1/4 teaspoon Ground Cloves
- 1/4 Cup Sugar
- 1 Cup Brown Sugar
- 1/4 Cup Unsweetened Applesauce
- 1/4 Cup Molasses
- 1/4 Cup Egg Whites
Instructions
- Set white sugar aside. You will use it later.
- In smaller mixing bowl, mix together the following dry ingredients flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, cloves. Set aside.
- In larger mixing bowl, combine brown sugar, applesauce, molasses and egg substitute. Beat with hand mixer until smooth, about two minutes.
- Slowly add the dry ingredients into the mixed wet ingredients. Continue to mix until combined.
- Refrigerate dough until chilled (about 4 hours or cover and refrigerate overnight).
- When ready to bake cookies, preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Roll dough into 2 inch balls, about the size of a walnut.
- Roll the dough ball in the white sugar until thoroughly coated and place 2 inches apart on the cookie sheet.
- Bake 10-12 minutes.
- Cool on a wire rack.
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