Welcome to Cooking with Chloe! Alice and Elizabeth, another mother-daughter team, tested Ginger Creams for us, a Gold Medal recipe.
This cookie was named a Betty Crocker Prize Recipe in 1929.
The verdict: The cookies were delicious, and got even better the next day.
The notes and photos below are from Alice and Elizabeth:
First step was to cream the shortening, adding sugar gradually. Key components to cookie baking include using mixing bowls that belonged to Alice’s grandma and the oldest wooden spoon in the house.
We followed the directions exactly. Lots of flour!
We chilled the dough for about 30 minutes. Chilling longer between batches did not make a difference—it’s soft dough.
We made the frosting and ate lunch while dough chilled.
The frosting was delicious. We recommend sifting the powdered sugar, but it works fine if you don’t. Be sure to use heavy cream!
Check oven. Bake cookies at 400 degrees for about 7.5 minutes. (We started with 8 minutes but reduced the time.) It smelled like Christmastime while they baked!
There was no difference between using parchment paper or greasing the cookie sheet. Make sure to remove the cookies from the sheet immediately after they come out of oven.
Frost while still warm.
The cookies were delicious, and got even better the next day. Elizabeth found them tasty with red wine.
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Alice and Elizabeth were kind enough to bring these to a Chloe program I gave at a local library, so I can attest that these are delicious! The light glaze provided the perfect complement to the spices in the cookies, and the soft texture was a pleasant change from traditional gingersnaps.
Huge thanks to Alice and Elizabeth for trying the recipe, and sharing the results! These cookies would be the perfect accompaniment to a book group discussion of Tradition of Deceit, but your family will thank you for baking them too.
Sites and Stories 
April 22, 2015 at 5:46 pm |
I’m sold! These look wonderful and so homey. Kudos!
April 22, 2015 at 9:09 pm |
From pie to cookies…we’re eating well these days. :>)
April 22, 2015 at 6:55 pm |
Yesterday I spoke with the bootmaker of the Year and we talked about exhibition items like boots that are never worn (he had a photo of a pair made in 1851 that was sewn with 54 stitches to the inch! They won a gold medal). Then he said that General Mills won a Gold Medal at an exhibition many years ago and that’s how most Gold Medals are won…at exhibitions. I thought the connection between boots and flour was very cool and thought of you and this great book. I also thought quilters would be crossing their eyes imagining 54 stitches to the inch but the bootmaker, D.W. Frommer II, said it was easier to stitch leather than cloth. Go figure! Jane
April 22, 2015 at 9:08 pm |
Jane, what an intriguing link! Washburn-Crosby evidently swept the gold medals at a major exhibition, hence the name Gold Medal Flour. As for 54 stitches per inch, I sure have never come close to that. I would never have guessed that it’s easier to stitch leather than cloth! Thanks for sharing.
June 13, 2015 at 3:05 pm |
I made WWII ginger creams without frosting and they were delicious. http://rifoodwars.tumblr.com/post/50517081571/gingerbread-has-been-a-perennial-favorite-dessert
June 13, 2015 at 6:35 pm |
And a nice alternative for those who don’t like too much sweetness, I’d imagine!