Twelve Weeks of Christmas Cookies, Week Three

This my second offering in April's Twelve Weeks of Christmas Cookies. Click on the button in the sidebar to see all the super cookie recipes everyone is posting.

These amazing cookies were the grand prize winner in the Food Network's Ultimate Recipe Showdown in 2008. Camilla Saulsbury won and believe me, she deserved it. My book group moaned with delight and my daughter rolled her eyes after tasting them.

You're going to love them.  They are  filled with spicy warmth from the ginger, cardamom, coriander and black pepper. The extra salt brings out the spicy sweetness in the ginger. They have a slightly crispy edge and are chewy on the inside with bits of crystallized ginger throughout. And look at those ingredients: a definite Middle Eastern flavor.

Exotic Spice Cookies
From  Camilla Saulsbury of Camilla's Shortcut Kitchen (and The Food Network)

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
2 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup dark brown sugar
3/4 cup chopped crystallized ginger
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup crisco solid, room temperature
1 large egg
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon rosewater
3/4 cup turbinado sugar, for rolling

Method:

Whisk the flour, ginger, soda, cardamom, cinnamon, coriander, pepper and salt until blended. Mix in the crystallized ginger and set aside.
In a large bowl, beat the brown sugar, butter and shortening until fluffy but do not overbeat. Add the egg, honey and rosewater and beat just until blended.

Cover and refrigerate 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 350° and spray cookie sheet with Pam. (I used parchment paper.)

Using wet hands, form the dough into 1 1/2 inch balls. Roll in the turbinado sugar.

Bake cookies 11-13 minutes until cracked on top, but soft.

Cool on the cookie sheet for 1 minute and then carefully transfer cookies to wire racks to cool completely.

Makes about 2 1/2 dozen.