Triple Ginger Cookies

Ingredients

• 1/2 + cup large-grain sugar
• 2 cups spelt flour OR whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground star anise, or allspice
• 4 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
• 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/4 cup unsulphured molasses
• 2/3 cup fine grain natural cane sugar, sifted
• 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh ginger, peeled and grated
• 1 large egg, well beaten
• 1 cup crystallized ginger, then finely minced
• 2 lemons, zest only

Directions

1. Set your oven to 350F, with racks in the top and bottom 1/3 of the oven. Cover a couple baking sheets with unbleached parchment paper or a Silpat mat, pour the large-grain sugar into a small bowl, and keep it nearby. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, star anise, ground ginger, and salt together.
2. Warm the butter in a skillet just until it has barely melted. Add the molasses, natural cane sugar, and fresh ginger, and stir to combine. You want this mixture warm, not hot, so if it feels hot against your finger, give it a little time to cool. Whisk in the egg.
3. Pour the butter mixture into the bowl with the flour mixture, then add the crystallized ginger, checking that it is not bunched up, and the lemon zest. Stir only until the dough comes together.
4. For tiny cookies, scoop the dough into exact, level tablespoons, then pull each portion into 2 pieces. Roll each 1/2 tablespoon of dough into a ball. Pick up a small handful of the large-grain sugar you set aside and roll each ball between your palms so the outside gets generously coated. Arrange the dough on the prepared baking sheets with a few inches between each one. If you want them a bit bigger, use 1 tablespoon of dough for each cookie.
5. Bake for 7-10 minutes, until the cookies rise, deepen in color a little, smell spicy, and split across the tops.