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.

Kelly's Giant Gingerbread Cookies and October's Give-Away Apron

Today is a sad day for me; it's Kelly's birthday and she would have been 43 years old.  In case you're new to the blog, our daughter was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer in 2009 and passed away on May 14, 2010 (another very hard day for me.)

However, I do have great memories and one of them we shared is our love of these Giant Gingerbread cookies.  In fact, I think Kelly was known more for my recipe than I was!  She was always baking them for friends' birthdays and special occasions.  It's no wonder she loved these spice cookies--she always asked for Pumpkin Pie for her birthday too.

Kelly's Giant Gingerbread Cookies
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/4 cup molasses
1 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
2 3/4 cups King Arthur all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 cup candied ginger chips

Sparkling Sugar to roll the cookies in

Preheat oven to 350F-degrees.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
In a stand mixer, using the paddle attachment, cream the butter, then add the sugars.  Cream until fluffy, scraping down the bowl as needed with a rubber spatula.  Add the molasses and egg and beat on low to combine, scraping down the sides again.

Add the dry ingredients and ginger chips and mix on low speed until just combined.  Remove from the stand and bring the dough together with the rubber spatula.

Use a #20 scoop to measure out the cookies and roll in the sparkling sugar.  Place on the parchment lined baking sheets.  Bake in the preheated oven for 12 minutes.

The cookies spread slightly, so give them room on the baking sheet.  The tops should be cracked and dry.  Transfer to a baking rack to cool completely.  Enjoy!

This month's apron, with orange and green colors, would have pleased Kelly.  She said to me, after her diagnosis and everyone sent her pink presents, "Mom, I really do hate the color of Pink!"  So, we have orange roses!
If you'd like to win this apron, just comment on any of the posts this month and it could be yours.  Thank you all for being my support system over these last five years;  it's meant a lot to be able to share my thoughts,