Pineapple Ginger Cookies

I had a baking fail today.  I was working on a new cookie recipe and it was not good.  It's kind of hard to explain what went wrong, but let’s just say that the results completely underwhelmed me.  I’m back to the drawing board with that one.  Fortunately, my second recipe turned out well.

These Pineapple Ginger Cookies were inspired by a conversation with my friend Ann Andersen, who told me about some pineapple cookies she’d baked.  They turned out okay but she thought they tasted a little bland. She was looking for a way to jazz them up a bit. 

I have a number of pineapple cookie recipes too, and they’ve all struck me as uninspiring.  I decided to revisit one of them and liven it up with some spice.  I added both powdered and chopped crystallized ginger to the cookie batter.  The resulting cookie was soft and cake-like, with moisture and sweetness from the pineapple, and a peppery kick from the ginger.

I’m glad I kept notes as I was baking because this recipe’s a keeper.  I’ll be making it again. 

To make Pineapple Ginger Cookies, you’ll need:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla (not pictured)
• 1 cup canned crushed pineapple, undrained
• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon powdered ginger
• 1/2 cup diced crystallized ginger (1/4 inch dice)

Cream the butter and sugar, then add the egg and vanilla and beat until light and fluffy.  Beat in the pineapple.

Whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and powdered ginger.  Add the crystallized ginger.  The pieces of crystallized ginger will want to stick to each other so break them apart into individual bits with your fingers.  Toss the ginger pieces in the flour mixture.

Add the flour mixture to the pineapple mixture and stir until the batter is thoroughly blended.

Line some cookie sheets with parchment paper then drop rounded teaspoonfuls of cookie dough onto the lined pans, spacing the cookies about 2 inches apart. 

Bake at 350ºF for about 10 minutes until the cookies are just turning golden around the edges.  The bottom of the cookies should be lightly browned.

Let the cookies cool on the cookie sheet for about 2 minutes before transferring them to a sheet of brown paper to cool completely.  Store the cooled cookies in an airtight container.