It’s pretty rare to see snow fall in the Mid-South where we currently live. Just the mere mention of a flake falling sends adults rushing to the grocery store to buy milk, bread and toilet paper.
Kids, on the other hand, are willing to make lunch-room deals with the weather folks for the coveted and much beloved “snow day.” (Secretly teachers wish for these too!) Son B is no exception. He groaned at the 1-hour delayed start. Me? Last night’s snowfall put me into reminisce mode of days gone by in much snowier settings.
The winter and spring storms in western New York near Buffalo that never seemed to end! I kid you not, we blew the driveway off at least 2-3 times a day that year just to get in and out of this house!
The spring blizzard of 1988 in South Dakota knocked our power out for about a week. Dad was Chief of Maintenance at Badlands NP, and I remember him hiking from housing to the maintenance yard through waist deep drifts at times. Once he got there, he dug through drifts to get the equipment out. This photo shows a pipe on the top of a pickup Dad parked in front of the shops. The truck could’ve easily been hit by the plow if the pipe wasn’t visible.
Snow-tubing adventures in Bryce Canyon’s under-appreciated sibling Red Canyon… Red Canyon is mistakenly thought to be Bryce Canyon by visitors traveling on Highway 12. Although not as large as BRCA, this Dixie National Forest system site has intensely red and orange sandstone, just as spectacular as BRCA! Drive through the iconic double tunnels, stop to take a picture (watch out for RV’s!), and then take a hike on one of Red Canyon’s many trails. It’s well worth the stop!
Going up… 
Going down…watch out for that tree! 
Fun! Hi Cletis!
Watching the kids slide down the neighbor’s yard hill took me back to yesteryear. Although my inflated truck tire tube was replaced by their streamlined pressed plastic, the same enthusiasm to barrel down a slick hill is timeless! Running up the hill, surfing down the hill, crashing at the bottom (and crying!). Not much changes.
Here I was wishing this dreary winter away for warmer Spring months, but darn these winter wanna-be flurries! Now I’m reverting back to Christmas time tasties…Snow Sprinkled Ginger Snaps!
When the weather begins to hint at cooler temperature, I turn on the oven and crank up the stand mixer for these cookies! Warm spices like cloves and ginger and rich molasses remind me of the hot cocoa after childhood toe-numbing events like tubing at Red Canyon. This cookie is drizzled with melted white chocolate to give that added cooling element. The original recipe was made with vegetable shortening, but I’ve switched to butter, resulting in a richer tasting, softer spice cookie. I started making Snow Sprinkled Ginger Snaps when my sons were little in the winter months in western New York. Truly it’s a beloved cookie at our house…not just when the snow flies!
PrintSnow Sprinkled Ginger Snaps
The warm spices and rich molasses in this tender cookie transport one to yesteryear. Make them better by adding a drizzle of melted white chocolate!
- Prep Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
- Yield: About 12 large cookies 1x
Ingredients
For the Cookies:
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
3/4 cup (1 and 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup molasses*
1 large egg
2–1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. salt (kosher or table)
Decoration:
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 tbsp. vegetable shortening**
Instructions
Line cookie/baking sheets with parchment paper or lightly grease with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
In a large bowl, cream brown sugar, butter, molasses, and egg. In a medium bowl, combine all-purpose flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Add dry ingredients to butter mixture until just combined.
Using a #24 ice cream scoop (3 tbsp.) or a 1/4 cup measuring cup, scoop dough onto prepared parchment lined baking sheets. Refrigerate for an hour or up to overnight. (After about an hour, dough can be placed into a freezer-safe container and frozen for later use.)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Take dough out of refrigerator. Dip tops of dough into granulated sugar. Place dough, sugar side up, on baking sheets 3 inches apart.
Bake cookies for about 15-17 minutes in preheated oven. Cookies should be just set. Remove from oven and let cool completely on a cooling rack (about 30 minutes).
To Decorate:
Place white chocolate chips into a resealable plastic bag. Microwave for 1 minute and in 30-second intervals afterwards until chocolate is melted. Cut off the tip of the plastic bag. Drizzle cooled cookies with the melted chocolate, going in opposite directions with each pass. Let cookies stand until chocolate is firm.
Notes
If you prefer a taller, crunchier cookie, the same amount of vegetable shortening can be substituted for the butter.
*Blackstrap molasses can be used in place of regular molasses. Your finished cookie will result in a slightly less-sweet and more intense molasses flavor.
**Use vegetable shortening to thin out the white chocolate chips for decoration. If you want the chips to flow quicker, or if your chocolate seizes up becoming lumpy, use vegetable shortening.
IMNPB
Recommended To You
