The last time I made ginger snaps, my husband said they were good, but they tasted more like molasses cookies. Just now, in search of another ginger snap recipe, I compared the ones I found to molasses cookie recipes - they seem to be virtually the same! The only difference might be a quarter teaspoon of ginger.
Am I missing something? Are they two names for the same thing?
More importantly, does someone have a ginger snap recipe to share?
Do the molasses cookies have no ginger or just less ginger?
In the former case, doesn’t the question kind of answer itself?
But if it’s the latter, then beats me.
In the recipes I’ve seen, the molasses cookies have ginger, but maybe a little less than in the ginger snap recipes. I didn’t do the math to figure percentages. But a quick summary of ingredients didn’t show any stark differences, hence my confusion. And my mom never made either, so I don’t have that as a point of reference to boot.
In my experience american gingersnaps and molasses cookies are differentiated by whether they’re crisp or chewy. Gingersnaps snap and have a stronger spice bite.
This is what I’d identify as the primary difference - crispy vs chewy.
As far as flavor goes: Molasses cookies should really emphasize the molasses if they’re done right. There are other flavors present, including ginger, but they should be playing supporting roles. A ginger snap, on the other hand, had better deliver on the ginger as the primary flavor.
Thanks, **silenus **- I’ve printed it out and I shall give it a try!
gwendee has been making these every year since I posted the recipe to great acclaim.
Just finished a batch. The crisp is exactly what I was looking for, but my husband and I both thought the clove was overpowering. Next time, it’ll just be cinnamon and ginger.
Meanwhile, I found another recipe that seems to have promise, so we shall see…
This is what I thought when I saw those quantities. Typo Knig once made a cake and threw in some spices and put in something like a half teaspoon of cloves. It was… overpowering. I’m a little surprised that a whole tablespoon of cloves would result in anything edible.
I’l try these though, but I’ll definitely cut down on the cloves. Cinnamon and ginger, now…
Funnily enough, when I switched to my recipe software to enter this one, the one I’d just finished was Alton Brown’s sauerbraten - which requires ginger snaps to thicken the sauce at the end. Fate, I tells ya.