Whole-Wheat Ginger Snaps

Adapted from Joy of Cooking, I've turned the traditional holiday cooking into a healthier version using whole-wheat flour. These Ginger Snap cookies are soft and chewy with a little crisp around the edge. They're so simple to make and bake in the oven for only 10 minutes, so you'll be enjoying the sweet, little-spicy, and very festive flavors in no time!

Ingreadient

• 1 1/4 cups whole-wheat pastry flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Pinch cloves
• 4 tablespoons butter (softened)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 3 tablespoons molasses (you will not get the dark brown color without this)
• 1/8 teaspoon orange zest ((optional, but good!))

Step by step

1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.
3. In a separate bowl, with an electric whisk/beater combine the wet ingredients.
4. Slowly add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients while mixing until well combined. Stop and scrape the sides of the mixing bowl if necessary.
5. Drop the cookie dough by the spoonful (I used a small scoop to make this job easy) onto a large ungreased baking sheet. Flatten each cookie with the back of a spoon or with your fingers.
6. Bake until done all the way through, 10 – 13 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool and serve.