Were they cut out of drop cookies?

That I do not know. Assume she rolled them out, and then cut them into circles. Tks for asking.

My grandma made good ones too. I think Crisco was her secret. That's what her old recipe says.

While I'm not a fan of a thin cookie, I have made ginger cookies in the past that came out thin and crunchy. Crisco tends to give that texture, but the real secret is the molasses. The next time you bake ginger cookies, use real Grandma's Molasses and see if you notice the difference.

cloebud - I made those cookies too. They are just right - spicy, chewy, and sweet. dandyrandylou - this is one recipe to try. You can sub Crisco for the butter but they won't be quite the same so make half with either and the other half.

nancy, they're truly addicting. I agree they wouldn't be the same w/o the butter. Using part Crisco could compromise the flavor in this case. I've used them in the Fall for Halloween parties. They make great homemade ice cream sandwiches with pumpkin ice cream.

dandyrandylou, I've still never tried them, but was just thinking about Ina Garten's Ultimate Ginger Cookies. Reviews are good.

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/ultimate-ginger-cookie-recipe-1917558

Shouldn't have opened this thread:)

Dandyrandylou -- I admire your pursuit of the mom's "best" ginger cookie. Not a bad pursuit to have, btw. I have a recipe that I use that uses some ground ginger, fresh ginger and a few cracks of pepper -- pretty spicy but good.

chloebud -- those are some very impressive dots. And I mean that. I'm going to save this one.

CathyinSWPA

Thanks, Cathy! I've done my share of cookie decorating over the years...something I just enjoy. Sometimes simple dots are nicer than fancy/schmancy. Also quick and easy!

I'm guessing the cookies might have been Betty Crocker's Moravian Ginger Cookies. Were they very dark and smooth? Rather than toast colored and cracked on the surface? If so, then that's probably it. It's a very thin rolled cookie, with lots of spices. We always add a bit more than is called for, as well. This is one of my very favorite cookie of all time. I don't have my recipes right here, but if you think it might be what you're looking for, I can find it. It's in the old Cooky Book for sure, and probably other Betty Crocker books.

I always use Grandma's old recipe, and I use half butter and half Crisco because I like the chewier texture. Of course, if you want crisp, use all butter and bake a bit longer. My family loves them and a lot of people here on the forum loved them too. They are very "gingery", and I add the chopped crystallized ginger because I like the bite, but it's optional.

1 1/2 cups of shortening (I use half and half with butter, but all butter makes them too crispy for my taste)
1 cups granulated sugar
1 cup dark brown sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup of dark molasses
4 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons ginger
1 teaspoon ground cloves
Chopped crystalized ginger, optional, to taste. I used about half a cup, finely chopped and wish I'd have used more but I love ginger
Coarse sugar or turbinado sugar for rolling

Ccream the shortening and sugars. Add the molasses and eggs and mix until well blended. Sift the flour (yeah right, I don't, LOL) and measure 4 1/2 cups into a separate bowl. Add the spices, salt, and baking soda and whisk to combine. Turn the mixer to low or stir, and add the flour slowly until well mixed. Stir in the chopped ginger and chill the dough for at least an hour.

After the dough has chilled for an hour, roll tablespoonfuls of the dough into balls and roll the balls in the coarse sugar to completely coat. Place the dough balls about an inch apart on a greased or parchment-lined cookie sheet and bake for 12 to 15 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

The cookies will puff up and crack. When the cookies are done the cracks should still look a little wet, but the outside should look dry. They'll "fall" a little as they cool, let them sit a couple of minutes on the sheet before you try to move them to cooling racks.

If you want to get really crazy, there are instructions here for making your own candied ginger, as well as pictures of the cookies!

https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/2431856/omg-old-original-annie

Annie

pillog, I'm not sure Betty Crocker was around back in the days when my mother was baking ginger cookies, but thanks for your interest. Plan to eventually try all recipes submitted, and thank one and all.

FWIW, "Betty Crocker" has been around since the 1920s.

carol -- that's what I was going to say as well! She's been around a long time!

But that Moravian cookie recipe has been around longer -- it's just easy to find in "Betty"!

Dandyrandylou, ditto to what Carolb and Martha said. If the description sounds right, try it! It's a fab cookie even if it's wrong. Thinking further, it does taste more of molasses than most ginger cookies. If you look up Moravian cookies, you'll see tons of recipes, like you would for chocolate chip. I just know the Betty Crocker, and that it come out right.

pillog - will do.

Annie's recipe - always works! This is part of nearly 400 cookies I baked for our garage sale tomorrow.

Ricky, those look amazing, and perfectly done. You sell cookies at your yard sale, or do you just need a LOT of snacks?

Annie

This was my first garage sale. We literally had to search the house to find enough stuff to fill a 4' table since we did a super heavy purge before moving here last July. But Suzi has around 100 handmade frames that she's no longer selling, so I decided to bake cookies and see what happens.

Well...

We got rid of almost everything we put on the table but I only sold around 1/4 of the cookies I made, so the rest are in the freezer. I made Annie's ginger cookies (above) also the mint chocolate, chocolate chip cookies (the recipe I usually use for medibles), lemon cranberry, and oatmeal raisin cookies. Roughly 100 of each. The hot seller - chocolate, what else?

Ricky, I once spent a lot of time on some decorated sugar cookies for a garage sale. It was around Memorial Day, and I decorated the cookies as American flags. Not sure what on earth I was thinking, but I would have been better off making chocolate chip or maybe oatmeal. Didn't even sell 1/4 of mine.

My biggest seller is always chocolate chip. Always. No matter how pretty I make them, how much frosting/sprinkles/glitter, no matter the citrus flavor or the level of butter or whatever, they still want the chocolate chip. Double if there are M&Ms in them.

Fine by me, leaves all the molasses/ginger cookies for me for breakfast! They are kind of an "old fashioned" cookie and today's kids want Oreos, not ginger snaps, I guess. Still, 100 cookies is a pretty good sale, I think.

Annie

How much did you charge? Per cookie? Per dozen? Per half dozen? How did you sell them?

6 cookies - all one kind - in a ziploc bag for $5. No one complained about the price, it's just that they were all looking for tools, baby toys, and used luggage.

Ricky, I agree...people are there looking for great deals on stuff. Can't remember at all what I charged for my cookies...too much, I'm sure. From my experience with garage sales, people tend to nickel and dime you to death. Cookies included.

I probably undercharge, but out here in the sticks, prices just aren't that high. $3 a dozen, or $2 a half dozen. I based that on our local farmer's market, where sellers sell cookies 3/$1, and they are bigger than mine. Last time I packaged them 6 per package a girl bought a package of chocolate chip and wandered around eating them, then left. She came back in about half an hour with $10 and bought 3 dozen more. I never sold her any yard sale stuff, but I sold out of cookies, LOL.

Annie

Annie, it's been a long time since I've seen great cookies anywhere near us for 3/$1. I think the mindset of garage sale shoppers is it's major bargain time for anything being sold. LOL...the stories I could tell about garage sales! :-/ I gave them up long ago.

I haven't done it, but people I know here in SoCal make double sized cookies and sell them for 50¢ each. Higher cost of living and all that.

We're here in the sticks (midwest) and even we sell cookies 6 for $5! And there are some cookie bakers/decorators that sell them for $1 or $2 EACH! But they are pretty cookies!

Wow, Martha, so your area is even more expensive than in South California? Whew. I'm in Northern Michigan, so we don't have the traffic/population/demand of a place like SoCal or Colorado and pretty much everyone I know bakes their own cookies.

Annie

Another vote for Annie's recipe! I love them! I wouldn't change a thing with this recipe!

Annie, I think you just hit on the difference. In stores here, double sized cookies are $1-2, I think, and while there are plenty of people who bake at home, I think most people call microwaving bought cookie dough "baking". You're not going to get the big prices for something someone thinks she can just go home and whip up a batch of for herself for the same price as a single cookie.

I'm also in SoCal where a single 'bakery' cookie is pricey. There are also those specialty cupcake places that charge $3 to $4 each. Crazy.