Sometimes life gets away from us.  One minute things are completely calm and the next, you feel like you are spiraling out of control.  Nothing seems right, your heart hurts, and your stress level is sending your tear ducts into overdrive.

When my life gets like this, I usually turn to tried-and-true “me things” to make myself feel better.  Working out is one of them, dancing is another, baking rounds out the trifecta.

I’ve been feeling pretty down the past couple of days and today wasn’t any better.  So I broke out the list.  I got up early and got in a (very sweaty) workout at the gym and I have 2 hours of dance later tonight so the one thing missing from my “pick-me-up” list was baking…and only one thing came to mind.

Cookies have always been a comfort food of mine.  I’ve made these and these and even these but the recipe today is one that Stephen and I have used over and over again and we’re never disappointed.  We have the recipe printed out and we’ve used it so many times, it’s got molasses and dough smears all over it.  That’s how you know it’s a good recipe.  I wasn’t a huge fan of ginger snaps until he and I made them together – now, they are one of my favorites too.

Ginger snaps are one of those cookies that you probably always have the ingredients for in the house.  They have a deep, warm flavor and a melt-in-your-mouth texture… one of those “can’t have just one” type of cookies.  And they are easy to make.  It’s especially fun to take extra flour and put it all over your special someone’s face – they’ll really enjoy that, I promise.  These are perfect to give as a gift or to show that special someone how much you love them.  Or you can just come over now and have one while they are still hot… seriously… It’s worth it.

Our Favorite Ginger Snaps
Courtesy of AllRecipes.com

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 TB ground ginger
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup shortening
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup dark molasses
Cinnamon-sugar (for coating)

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2.  Sift flour, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon and salt into a large bowl.  Stir to blend.

3.  Place shortening in a mixing bowl and mix until smooth.  Slowly add the white sugar while the machine is on.  Beat in the egg and then the molasses until it is all combined.

4.  In batches, slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet until a soft dough forms.

5.  Pinch off small pieces of dough and roll into 1-inch balls.  Coat the dough balls in the cinnamon-sugar mixture and place on an ungreased cookie sheet.

6.  Bake in preheated oven until the tops are rounded, about 10 minutes.  Let cool or invite that someone special over while the cookies are still hot!