Rufus’s Gingersnap Cookie Recipe (The Rescuers)

INTRODUCTION

Welcome back friends! This week we’ll be baking the Gingersnap cookies Penny gives Rufus the cat in Disney’s The Rescuers.

These cookies are featured when Bernard and Miss Bianca visit the orphanage to find Penny. They find Rufus the cat instead, and he recollects the last time he saw her. In his memory, she snuck him two Gingersnap cookies, which he charmingly mistook for “Catnipsnaps”.

I think baking cookies is my favorite! There is just something so satisfying about making cookie dough and then baking snack size treats for loved ones. I tend to enjoy eating the chewier and gooier cookies, but these were like eating crunchy gingerbread cookies and I really love them! Perhaps its the crunchy store-bought or factory-made cookies I’m not as fond of!

GINGERSNAPS

• 2 cups of all-purpose flour
• 1 ½ teaspoons of baking soda
• ½ teaspoon of ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
• 1 ½ teaspoons of ground ginger
• ½ teaspoon of salt
• 11 tablespoons of unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2/3 cup of sugar
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• ¼ cup of mild-flavored molasses (sometimes called ‘light’ molasses)
• ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract
• Coarse sugar crystals or granulated sugar for coating the cookies

INSTRUCTIONS (GINGERSNAPS)

1. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, black pepper, cinnamon, ginger and salt.
2. In another medium to large bowl, beat the butter until soft, then add the sugar and continue to beat until light and fluffy; scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
3. Add the egg, molasses and vanilla to the butter and sugar; scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
4. Gradually mix in the dry ingredients until the dough is smooth; scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
5. Lightly flour your hands and gather all the dough into a loose ball (if it starts sticking to your fingers add a little more flour until it doesn’t), then place it back in the bowl.
6. Cover the top of the bowl with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to an hour.
7. We are to firm up the dough enough so it isn’t floppy while rolling it into a cylinder shape in the next step.
8. Divide the dough in two equal portions and roll each on a lightly-floured surface until each is in a cylindrical shape that’s about 2 inches in diameter. Don’t worry if they’re not perfect; you can neaten them up in a second.
9. Wrap each portion of dough in plastic wrap then roll them lightly on the counter to smooth them out.
10. Refrigerate until both are firm (I let mine refrigerate overnight).
11. To bake, preheat the oven to 350 F and line a baking sheet or two with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
12. Remove the dough cylinders from the refrigerator, remove the plastic wrap, and slice the cookie dough into 1/4-inch thick rounds with a sharp knife. I would work with one portion at a time so the other doesn’t get too soft.
13. Pour coarse or granulated sugar into a bowl and dip one side of each dough slice into the sugar to coat.
14. Place each slice sugar side up on the baking sheet, evenly spaced apart. Leave a couple of inches between the cookies since they will spread while baking.
15. Bake for 10-14 minutes, rotating the baking sheets midway during baking, until deep-golden brown. This will depend on your oven, but you can bake closer to 10 minutes for softer cookies, and closer to 14 minutes for snappier ones.
16. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for about two minutes, then remove them with a spatula and transfer them to a cooling rack.