Ginger COWs

Today I wanted sweets. Not just any sweets; I wanted spicy sweets. What better way to meet the need than with ginger? Ginger makes for some of the best spicy sweet treats around! But my sweet tooth was more specific than that. I wanted cookies! The only trouble is, it's really hard to make cookies without butter. My pantry was lacking but my creativity was not! After rummaging around, I found a jar of coconut oil. Perfect! Coconut oil makes a delicious butter substitute in baking, offering a subtle coconut flavor that I adore. I also had a jar of molasses that desperately needed to be used up, a knot of fresh ginger sitting in the crisper, and on the counter I had an orange leftover from snack time with the kids. Coconut, ginger, orange, molasses?...Yup! Sounded like a good cocktail of flavors to me! Since we've also switched over to eating completely GMO free in our household, I have been doing more baking with GMO free wheat flour as well. So into the mix it went!

You guys...seriously. These cookies are AMAZING! I am quite proud of them. So much so that I am actually writing up this blog right after I took them out of the oven. And you all know how often I blog. Not often at all. Now you know how special these cookies are. Make them! Consume them! Love them!

Why do I call them "ginger COWs"? If you haven't figured it out, it's an acronym: Ginger C-coconut O-orange W-wheat cookies. Why didn't I add molasses into the title too? Because ginger COWs sounds funnier, plus "molasses ginger coconut orange wheat cookies" is a mouthful. Instead of a mouth full of words, enjoy a mouth full of cookie instead.

Ginger COWs

Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup coconut oil (at room temp)
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup finely grated fresh ginger
the zest of 1 large orange
1 large egg
1/3 cup unsulfured molasses

Whisk together all-purpose flour and whole wheat flour, ground ginger, baking soda, and salt.

In a large bowl, using a mixer, beat coconut oil and sugar on medium-high until fluffy. Beat in fresh ginger, orange zest, egg, and molasses. Beat in flour mixture.

Scoop dough into 1 1/2 inch balls onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Refrigerate until firm, 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place balls 2 inches apart on two parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake until centers are just set, 15 minutes, rotating halfway through. Let cool on sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.

Makes two dozen cookies.