Ginger Thins -- The Tea Cakes I Carried Into the Church Cookie Exchange

Third Sunday of Advent and I am beginning to feel my birthday approaching the way you feel weather before it arrives — a shift in the light, a change in how the time moves. I have a complicated relationship with my birthday, which I have had my whole life since it falls on Christmas Day, which means for most of my childhood it was observed as an afterthought or not at all. When you are born on Christmas the world has already decided what that day is about and it is not you.

But in recent years I have been trying to reclaim it, a little. To make December twenty-fifth both things it is for me: the birth of Christ and the anniversary of my own particular beginning. I've started baking myself a birthday cake in addition to the Christmas cooking — something just for me, that is not a holiday dessert. Last year it was a lemon cake. I haven't decided this year's yet.

Bernice's Table had its last service before Christmas this Tuesday and we sent people home with extra. Odalys organized a bag of non-perishable goods for each family — canned goods, rice, dried beans, the things that keep — and a box of cookies that Kezia and I had spent two Saturdays baking. I carried them to the cars myself because I wanted to say goodbye to people individually, to wish them a good Christmas with my hands touching theirs. Some of them I won't see until January. Some of them don't have people to spend the holiday with and I want them to know they were seen before the season started.

New Hope AME's cookie exchange is Sunday. I'm bringing the tea cakes that Shanice taught me last month — she showed me over video call when I asked for her grandmother's recipe, and I've made them twice now and I believe I've got them. It feels right to bring Shanice's recipe into the church community. She's family. Her grandmother's tea cakes belong here now too.

These ginger thins are what I’m bringing to New Hope AME on Sunday — they’re the cookies Shanice walked me through over video call, her grandmother’s recipe passed through the screen and into my kitchen. They’re crisp and warmly spiced, the kind of thing that keeps well in a tin and travels beautifully, which matters when you’re baking for a community. I’ve made them twice now and I feel ready to carry them into the room where they belong.

Ginger Thins

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 10 min | Total Time: 30 min (plus 1 hour chilling) | Servings: 48 cookies

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar, plus more for rolling
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup unsulfured molasses
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Whisk dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, black pepper, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
2. Cream butter and sugar. In a large bowl, beat softened butter and 1 cup sugar together on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
3. Add wet ingredients. Beat in the egg, molasses, and vanilla extract until fully combined and smooth.
4. Combine and chill. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, stirring until a soft dough forms. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or overnight.
5. Preheat oven. When ready to bake, heat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Place a few tablespoons of granulated sugar in a small bowl for rolling.
6. Shape cookies. Roll dough into 1-inch balls, then roll each ball in the granulated sugar to coat. Place 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Press each ball down slightly with the bottom of a glass to flatten into a thin round, about 1/4 inch thick.
7. Bake. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes, until the edges are set and the tops appear dry and just barely crackled. Do not overbake — they will crisp further as they cool.
8. Cool. Let cookies rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight tin at room temperature for up to two weeks.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 72 | Protein: 1g | Fat: 3g | Carbs: 11g | Fiber: 0g | Sodium: 35mg