We make roll out these spicy cookies until they’re thin enough to be crunchy. But if you want them even crunchier, leave them in the oven another minute or two—or roll them out even thinner. Once cooled, they’ll last at least a year in the fridge, if not nearly as long on your counter.
Makes about 3 dozen small cookies
Nonstick spray
1¼ cups or 150 grams all-purpose or plain flour, plus additional for dusting
3 tablespoons or 16 grams unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons ground ginger
½ teaspoon grated nutmeg
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ cup or 50 grams vegetable shortening
¼ cup or 85 grams molasses or black treacle
¼ cup or 55 grams packed dark brown sugar
1 large egg white, at room temperature
Position the racks in the bottom and top thirds of the oven. Preheat it to 350F or 175C. Spray two large baking sheets with nonstick spray.
Mix the flour, cocoa powder, ground ginger, grated nutmeg, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl until uniform; set aside as well.
Beat the shortening, molasses, and brown sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed. Continue beating until amber and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the egg white.
Remove the beaters and stir in the prepared flour mixture until creamy if still grainy.
Dust a clean, dry work surface with flour, then gather the dough into a ball, place it on the work surface, and press down lightly with your hands to form a flattened basketball. Dust a rolling pin with flour, dust the dough itself with flour, then roll it out to a large circle, about 16 inches or 41 centimeters in diameter and ¼-inch or 1/2-centimeter thick.
Use a 2-inch or 5-centimeter cookie cutter or drinking glass to cut out round cookie disks. Transfer them to the baking sheets, spacing them about 1 inch or 2 1/2 centimeters apart. If desired, reroll the dough scraps, dusting with flour, to create more cookies.
Bake for 4 minutes, then rotate the sheets top to bottom and back to front. Continue baking about 4 more minutes, or until the cookies are crisp. Cool on the baking sheets for 1 minute, then transfer to a wire rack to cool. If baking additional batches, cool the baking sheets to room temperature, then respray them.
A little bit of flour on them from rolling. Doesn’t hurt a thing!