these super crunchy spiced thins are perfect with coffee. whether gingerbread flavored or not.
the secret? roll them out super thin. i'm talking a sixteenth of an inch - no, i did not measure - but get them as thin as you possibly can. towards the end of the batch, i got sick of rolling and did one sheet pan thicker. instead of the characteristic crunch, they were a bit chewy. the flavor was great, but the crunch is what i really wanted.
these are one of the few things crunchy enough to
dunk in my
coffee and not get soggy!
spiced thinsadapted from
everyday with rachael rayprep: 15 minutes, chill: 1hr+, bake: 1hr; makes about 6 sheet pans full
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup vegetable shortening, room temperature
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice (or 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/4 teaspoon each of ground cloves, allspice, and nutmeg)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup unsulfured molasses
4 cups all purpose flour
- using an electric mixer, beat the brown sugar, butter, and shortening until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. mix in the spices, baking powder, baking soda, and vanilla. mix in the molasses.
- at low speed, gradually mix in the flour until incorporated. the dough will be quite thick.
- divide the dough into quarters and roll each into a ball. place each ball on a sheet of plastic wrap, flatten it with your hand into a disc, and wrap with plastic. chill in the refrigerator for at least one hour.
- preheat your oven to 325F and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to about 1/8" to 1/4" thick. cut the dough into whatever size and shape you'd like. place on the cookie sheets. the cookies don't spread much when baking, so leave about a half inch space between them on the sheets. reroll the scraps until all the dough is used up.
- bake about 12 - 15 minutes or until lightly browned.
- let cool on the cookie sheet a few minutes until set. remove with a spatula and let cool completely on a wire rack. store in an airtight container.