Snapt

This morning I made Brandy Snaps. It was an interesting experience.

The first recipe, from the Cookie book that my mento'd given me, used molasses as the primary sweet ingredient. They cited light molasses, which I didn't have, but I did have dark molasses. Turns out that wasn't a good idea. The batter hardly spread at all, and even after five minutes of cooling was way too pliable - almost the consistency of a crepe. So, I did a web search and found a recipe on the Washington Post site that looked plausible. Only catch was, it used Golden Syrup -- but some sites suggested that corn syrup was an acceptable alternative. And so it turned out to be.

Here's the recipe, and the sweet, crunchy, and more than a little greasy result. One note: when they say '6 on the baking sheet', that's only if you really are using a level tablespoon or less. Any more, back off on the number of pieces. These jewels spread.

Brandy Snaps

Summary: There is no brandy in these easy molded cookies. They are traditionally filled with a brandy-flavored whipped cream before serving. To make them, you'll need to have ready 2 or 3 rounded handles about 3/4 inch wide (we used the handles of a wooden meat mallet and wire whisks). Lyle's Golden Syrup is available at Rodman's stores, Giant and some Williams-Sonoma stores. MAKE AHEAD: The cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. The batter should not be refrigerated or frozen. Makes 12 to 18 cookies Ingredients:

* 1/2 cup flour
* 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
* 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
* 1/3 cup sugar
* 1/4 cup Lyle's Golden Syrup (see headnote)

Directions: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with a silicone liner or parchment paper. Whisk together the flour and ginger in a small bowl. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the sugar and golden syrup; cook, stirring, for 1 to 2 minutes, until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and whisk in the flour-ginger mixture. Working fairly quickly to keep the mix from stiffening, spoon 6 level tablespoons onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing them at least 2 inches apart (the cookies will spread quite a bit).

Bake for 5 minutes, then rotate the sheet front to back and bake for 5 minutes. The cookies will be flat and golden brown. Transfer the baking sheet to the stove top (off the heat but in a warm place).

Let the cookies rest for 2 minutes, until they are firm but flexible; then, working with one or two at a time, wrap the cookies around a handle to form a tubular shape and transfer to a wire rack to set; this should take about 1 minute. When the cookies are crisp, the handles can be extracted. Let the cookies cool completely before storing. Repeat with the remaining batter. Store the molded cookies in an airtight container to maintain their crispness.

Recipe Source: Adapted from "Martha Stewart's Cookies" (Clarkson Potter, 2008).