Regency Ginger Crisps

Do not preheat oven yet—dough must chill before baking.

¾ cup melted butter (1½ sticks)

1 cup brown sugar

1 large beaten egg (or two medium, just whip them up with a fork)

4 tablespoons molasses (that’s ¼ cup) ***

2 teaspoons baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons ground ginger

2¼ cups flour (not sifted)

½ cup white sugar in a small bowl (for later)

Melt butter and mix in sugar. Let mixture cool and then add egg(s). Add soda, molasses, salt, and ginger. Stir it thoroughly. Add flour and mix in. Chill the dough for at least 1 hour. (Overnight is even better.)

When the dough has chilled, preheat oven to 375 degrees F., rack in the middle position.

Roll dough into walnut-sized balls with your hands. Roll the dough balls in white sugar. (Just dump them in the bowl with the sugar and shake the bowl gently to coat them.) Place them on greased cookie sheets, 12 to a standard sheet. Flatten them with a spatula.

Bake at 375 degrees F. for 10 to 12 minutes or until nicely browned. Cool on cookie sheets for no more than l minute, and then remove to wire rack to finish cooling. (If you leave these on the cookie sheets for too long, they’ll stick.)

Served these at Mother’s Regency Romance Club. They asked me for something from the Regency Period. Why not?

(Tracey loves these as a bedtime snack with a glass of milk.)

Yield: 6 to 7 dozen, depending on cookie size.

Chapter Nine

Her shop was every bit as crowded as yesterday, and Hannah was relieved when the predictable eleven o’clock lull arrived. It was the time of day when Lake Eden residents decided that it was too late for a breakfast cookie and too early for a lunch cookie. The break gave Hannah time to gather her wits and continue her unofficial, but deputy-sanctioned, investigation. She put on a fresh pot of coffee, wiped down the counter until it was sparkling, and went through the swinging door to the bakery to talk to Lisa.

Lisa had just taken the last pan of cookies from the oven and she greeted Hannah with a smile. “I’m finished with the baking, Hannah. And your plant’s going to make it. Its roots just needed to be soaked.”

“Thanks, Lisa.” Belatedly Hannah remembered the instructions her mother had given her with the plant. African violets needed to be watered from the bottom and not from the top. She walked over to glance at the plant and saw that it looked much perkier. “I think it needs a new caregiver. Take it home with you, Lisa.”

Lisa smiled, clearly delighted with the offer. “It’s a hybrid called ‘Verona’s Delight,’ and it’ll be just gorgeous when it blooms. Are you really sure that you don’t want it?”

“I’m positive. It’ll be a lot happier with you. Can you hold down the fort for me while I run next door to talk to Claire?”