Recipe: Whole-Wheat Gingersnaps

WHOLE-WHEAT GINGERSNAPS

"Thin and crisp like traditional gingersnaps, these spicy cookies have only half the fat. The recipe calls for using a pastry bag to pipe out the dough into neat rounds. If you find the bag too much of a bother or don't insist on uniformity, drop 1/2-teaspoon dollops of dough 1 1/2 inches apart on baking sheets."

1 cup unsifted whole-wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons vegetable shortening
2 tablespoons light molasses
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease 2 large baking sheets.

In small bowl, combine flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt; set aside.

In medium-size bowl, with electric mixer on medium speed, beat sugar and shortening until fluffy. Add molasses, egg, and vanilla and beat until blended. Reduce mixer speed to low; beat in flour mixture just until combined (dough will be thin).

Transfer dough to pastry bag fitted with a 1/4-inch round tip. Pipe dough into 3/4-inch rounds about 1 1/2 inches apart on greased sheets.

Bake cookies 7 minutes or until they have spread and are firm but not brown at the edges. Cool cookies on sheets 5 minutes. Remove to wire rack and cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

Makes: 40 cookies
Source: Country Living magazine