Holiday Spice Recipe: Ginger Cookie Crumbles

I have a particular fondness for foods seasoned with ginger. Sometimes sweet, sometimes spicy, sometimes acidic, and always aromatic - ginger is one of my feel good foods. With good reason. In its fresh form, ginger has been used medicinally since ancient times. I frequently turn to ginger to calm an upset tummy. This time of year I like to combine ginger with some soda and a splash of whiskey, for, you know, medicinal reasons...

Many fall and winter foods feature ginger. Even in its dry form, ginger lends a cheerful warmth to holiday recipes. This time of year I find myself craving combinations of ginger, allspice, cloves, cinnamon, and cardamom. The perfume of fresh spices has the power to transport me to fantasy street markets in exotic places. I mix various combinations of warm winter spices into everything from pancakes to the pots of water I let simmer on the stove until the aroma has spread throughout the house.

One of the most traditional places to find warm wintry spices is in desserts. I particularly love gingerbread and gingersnaps. The "real," freshly baked, variety are my favorite. I only get those one or twice a year. But, I have a confession. I like to keep a stash of  Ginger Family Cookies tucked in the back of the pantry. Two or three tucked alongside a steaming mug of tea when the light starts waning too early in the afternoon feels like a major indulgence.

Random aside: The cookies used to be called "Gingermen." I guess the makers wanted to give the tempting morsels a broader appeal. Perhaps they thought a bag full of bachelor cookies was too standoffish. A few years ago the cookie elves appear to have worked a little match making magic. Things must have moved pretty fast! Now you can buy a box containing a proud papa, a pleasantly plump mama, and a his and hers pair of ginger children joined merrily at their hands and feet.

Unattached, or as a family, these are crunchy cookies. I'm not going to lie, there is a satisfying snap when you bite into their jolly little faces.

Sadly, there is a downside to a bag of sweet and spicy little cookie people in my cupboard. Somedays it is dark all day, and I am tired, and mopey, and I just want a little something to perk me up. On those days a bag of adorable little cookies is dangerous.

To be able to keep a stash of ginger cookie goodness with far less temptation, I came up with a gingersnap version of an ice cream topping that I made a few times over the summer. My family has been sprinkling a teaspoon or two over frozen yogurt for a fancy treat. I also used about a teaspoon of Ginger Cookie Crumbles to make the Pumpkin Pie Parfaits. It has the bright spice of a ginger snap with a slight graham cracker taste and a little ping of saltiness at the end.

Delightfully, the crumbles are a bit strange to munch on its own. I am able to keep a jar of ginger cookie goodness in the freezer, without the temptation to over indulge.

You can find more recipes using these spices throughout my Eat Merrily & Be Light book! To get a free copy, click the link in the sidebar or below this post.