I finally came across a recipe for Spice Sugar Cookies. Black pepper? Cayenne? Now that's more like it! Being a connoisseur of the chocolate chip cookie (and having the recipe floating about in my head), I started to look over the recipe with a closer eye. Things were looking good until I hit the salt. That seemed like a lot. I figured I should check out the reviews, of which there were two. One loved it, the other...thought it tasted like Playdoh. Hmm. Not exactly what I was going for. So I made a few revisions and here's the finished product.
I love this cookie. So dainty and unassuming. They're dense and not overly sweet, almost like a soft shortbread. Only about halfway through you start to realize that your mouth is starting to burn in a way that should not be connected to cookies. Good thing milk was made for cookiedom and will neutralize that capsaicin (the substance in peppers that sets your mouth on fire). I also thought it could use a bit more flavor, so I tried out a glaze on them too. The review from the test kitchen? Devoured. There seems to be division over the glaze vs. not glazed, so I think next time I'll make half and half. And there will be a next time, oh yes.
NOTE: This was my first experience with fresh ginger. I've used the ground kind several times and while I don't hate it, it's not my favorite. Obviously I didn't have fresh when researching this recipe so I looked up the conversion. Turns out there isn't one; they're totally different flavors. And they are! Fresh ginger packs a sharpness which is marvelous. And it turns out you can freeze it. So I recommend picking up a small nub and throwing it in a sandwich bag in your freezer. I'm looking forward to experimenting with it more.
