Giant Gingerbread and October's Give-Away Apron

 Giant Gingerbread cookies were a favorite of my Kelly's; so much so that she started baking them for friends for their birthdays.  Tomorrow would have been Kelly's 44th birthday and my heart is filled with sadness today knowing she's not around to enjoy these.  She loved these flavors and would be asking me to bake a pumpkin pie instead of a cake for her birthday!  These cookies are appropriate for this fall season with their aromatic spices and rich molasses flavor and I think they'll become a favorite of yours too.

Giant Gingerbread Cookies
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup molasses
2 1/2 cups King Arthur all-purpose flour (plain flour)
2 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg and ground cloves

Sparkling Sugar

In a bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together thoroughly, scrapping down the sides as needed with a rubber spatula.  Add the molasses and egg and beat once more.  Mix all the dry ingredients together and add to the batter. Mix on low just until the flour mixture is incorporated.  Scrape down the sides once more and remove from the stand.  Cover with plastic wrap and chill dough one hour.

Preheat oven to 325F-degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.  Use a 1/4-cup size scoop to measure the dough, roll the tops in the Sparkling Sugar and place onto the baking sheet.

Bake in the preheated oven to 13 to 15 minutes.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the pan for 5-7 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.

Even with the rain and dreary day, my kitchen smelled wonderful and so many memories came back. Enjoy!

The apron for this month has some special colors, which were Kelly's favorites.  I hope you like it and if you comment on the posts this month, it could be in your kitchen for the holidays.

For all my dear friends in the path of this hurricane, my prayers to keep you safe.