gingerbread.

 

In a good-sized bowl, whisk two cups of flour (all-purpose will do), two teaspoons of soda (the baking kind), one teaspoon each ground ginger, cloves, and cinnamon,and a wee quarter-teaspoon coarse salt. Dance them ’round the bowl, then set them aside. In a wide-mouthed bowl, beat a generous cup of sugar and twelve tablespoons butter (unsalted and no more than room temp)—that’s one and a half sticks, if you’re stickishly inclined. Cream them together till they’re fluffy ’n light; scrape the sides to blend them nicely. Atop o’ this, crack a fresh brown egg–any hue will do, but make it room temp and large. Whisk and whisk again, then add a quarter cup molasses (blackstrap and unsulphured), and stir it through and through. Add the flour mixture, a bit at a time, then blend, blend, blend,with wooden spoon or paddle, till you have a caramel-colored dough, thick and grainy. Gather the goodness into a mound and plop the lot into a fresh clean bowl. Tuck some wrap around it and chill it for an hour. Heat an oven to 350 and pre-set its rack: one in the middle works best, but you knew that. Line a cookie tray with parchment, then pour half a cup of sugar into a wee bowl. When the dough seems chilled, scoop it out by hand and roll it in your palms: one-inch balls—or one-and-a-half—make a good melt-in- your-mouth size. Dress each ball in a coat of sugar, then set on the tray, two inches apart. Bake in batches a quarter hour (or up to 20 minutes) till the centers are firm and the color looks oak-y. Cool on a rack for 10 more minutes—unless you can’t wait, and who could blame you?