WHOLE WHEAT GINGER SNAPS

When we were living in CA, I went in a small dress shop that was closing.  I think they had decided to take advantage of their closing to bring in some personal things that they wanted to get rid of because I walked out with a cookbook instead of any clothes.  Recipes to Lower Your Fat Thermostat was a cookbook I saw and decided to buy.  It was written and illustrated by La Rene Gaunt copyrighted 1984.  It has 398 pages.  The first 9 pages deal with "Making the Change" and the rest are recipes.  For every recipe she includes information such as calories, % fat, protein, fat in grams, carbohydrates in grams, sodium in milligrams, etc....

Interesting information Mrs. Gaunt also tells you in the back is:

"Protein - 1  gram =  4 calories
Fat -  1  gram = 9 calories
Carbohydrates - 1  gram =  4 calories
Foods with more than 20 percent fat should be avoided  for your own good health."

DIET is a word that means different things to different folks.  For some people it means a special selection of foods to lose weight.  To others it means the usual foods you eat.  I lean more to the latter.  I don't think that "going on diets" work if you are trying to control your weight.  Only changing your diet (the foods that you usually eat) will do that.  I think of it as changing my lifestyle.  I'm certainly not perfect and I "cheat" more often than I should, but I do try to watch, most of the time, what I eat---especially saturated fats, trans fats, sugar, and sodium.  I try to avoid high fructose corn syrup, enriched grains, and eat as many whole grains as I can.  

I'm not advocating what Mrs. Gaunt presents in her book, but if you are interested in knowing that information about recipes that you make, you might want to check your library for this book or used book stores.  It does have many really good recipes in it and recipes that are hard to find.

How did I get on this????? I really just wanted to give you this really good recipe for gingersnaps that are whole wheat.  Please, don't hold it against me.

GINGER SNAPS

1/2   cup     dark molasses

1/2   cup     canola oil

1/2   cup     honey, warmed (30 seconds in microwave)

2/3   cup    water, hot (hot tap water 30 seconds in microwave)

 1     tsp      baking soda

 2     tsp      ginger

1/4   tsp      cloves

1/4   tsp      nutmeg

1/8   tsp      allspice

 3     cups    whole wheat pastry flour

Combine  molasses, oil, honey, water and baking soda in a large mixing bowl.  (See tip alert below.)

In a small bowl, combine all the spices into flour with a whisk.

Add the flour mixture to the molasses mixture.

Gradually add up to 1/2  cup more flour if batter is too thin.

Cover batter and chill in refrigerator for an hour.  Batter will be more like a thicker cake batter.  

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Using a 1-inch scoop, drop dollops of dough on an ungreased cookie sheet.  Batter will flatten enough by itself.

Bake for 10 minutes.

Remove immediately and cool on wire rack.

Batter will make 50 cookies and each contains 58 calories, 1 gram of fat, 1 gram of protein, 11 grams carbohydrates, and 21 milligrams of sodium.

I like to make these cookies and then crumble them up and use them to make crust instead of graham crackers.  The ginger taste is a nice change.

TIP ALERT:

This tip is helpful when you are measuring ingredients such as molasses in this recipe and oil.  Measure the oil first in your measuring cup (1).  Then add the molasses (2).  The molasses will sink to the bottom as it is heavier.  When you pour the two into your mixing bowl (3), it all comes out easily (4)....no having to scrap the measuring cup. 
 Then for this recipe, I used the same measuring cup (no washing) and added the honey. (5)  It was supposed to be heated, so I put the measuring cup in the microwave for 30 seconds.   I measured the 2/3 cup of hot tap water in the same cup (6) and heated it in the microwave for 30 seconds on high.  

When I was finished and put the batter in the refrigerator, this is all I had to clean up.

 My friend, Carol, (I have shared some of her recipes) recently asked me where I find whole wheat pastry flour.  I have only found one brand in grocery stores.....usually in the health food section.  If you have access to a store that sells in bulk, check it out there.  It will probably be much cheaper. (I get twice as much for about the same price in the grocery store.)  I have been buying it in a larger bulk at a grocery store in Jamesport.  I freeze it and just keep a smaller amount in a ziplock bag in my refrigerator for convenience.  You should always keep whole wheat flour (esp) in your refrigerator.  I like the pastry flour because it is ground finer and is milder tasting than just whole wheat flour.