Cookies

What is a Joe Frogger? They are famous molasses cookies made long ago by old Uncle Joe of Marblehead, Mass. The giant molasses cookie was born in this North Shore community more than 200 years ago, and while some may think of Joe Froggers as relics from dusty Yankee cookbooks and Colonial timepieces, they are still cherished in their hometown. This is especially true when the spicy treat helps to take the chill off icy weather.

Ann Stanley, Kevin Conzo's late grandmother, made these cocoa cookies with a cookie press. You can also shape balls by hand. They make a nice snack with a cup of coffee and won't fall apart when dunked. 

California pastry chef Sherry Yard, who is part of the Wolfgang Puck restaurant empire, makes these cookies with something she calls "fat raisins." She poaches golden or Red Flame raisins. The cookies, she writes in "Desserts by the Yard," are favorites of former president Bill Clinton. This batter works best if chilled for about 1 hour.

Rich, deeply chocolate, and chewy on the inside, these cookies keep extremely well. The trick is not to over bake them; take them from the oven and let them cool and they will firm up.

A sprinkling of crystallized ginger and dried cranberries makes these easy, chocolate-dipped gingersnaps festive.

Makes 4 servings, 2 cookies each

Ingredients

8 small gingersnaps
⅓ cup bittersweet chocolate chips, melted (see Tip)
1 tablespoon finely chopped crystallized ginger
1 tablespoon finely chopped dried cranberries

Instructions

These wafer-thin cookies may have been created with Passover in mind, but their shattering crispness and perfume of almonds and lemon make them alluring at any time of year.

A combination of ground, crystallized, and fresh ginger gives these soft, chewy cookies their intense flavor.

Yield: Makes about 40

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

A Sicilian specialty, this recipe produces a relatively hard biscuit -- perfect with an afternoon cup of coffee.