Soft ginger cookies w/whole spelt

Ina called them "ultimate". She knew what she was talking about...

Recipe adapted from Ina Garten
time: 20 min preparation + 2x13 min baking
makes 16-20 cookies

ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups (340 g) regular flour OR
• 1 cup (150 g) regular flour and
• 1 1/4 cup (150 g) whole spelt flour
• 1 teaspoon (8 g) baking soda 
• 1/4 teaspoon (2 g) salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 cup (220 g) brown sugar
• 1/4 cup oil (60 ml) I used canola cold pressed
• 1/3 cup (80 ml) liquid honey
• 2 medium eggs, room temperature

crystal sugar for finishing

instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350F/180C (fan forced function). Line two baking sheet with parchment paper. 
2. In a medium bowl sift together flour(s), spices, baking soda and salt. 
3. In a bowl of a standing mixer with paddle attachment, mix brown sugar, honey and oil for 5 minutes on medium speed. Turn the mixer on low. Add eggs. Whisk for 1 minute. Scrape the bottom of the bowl. Continue whisking for another minute. Slowly add flour mix and blend just till combined. 
4. Scoop cookie dough using two teaspoons or an ice cream scoop. With wet hands, form balls (size of a large walnut) and dip them in sugar. Squeeze the balls gently between your fingers and arrange them on the sheets, spacing about 2 inches (5 cm) apart. 
5. Place in the oven (one sheet at the time) for 13 minutes and not 1 minute longer. Cookies should be cracked on the outside and soft inside. Let them cool for a couple of minutes and then transfer onto a cooling rack for further cooling.

notes

• a perfect, fool proof recipe with a WOW result;
• the cookies are sweet and very tasty: all these Christmas spices, lots of them, are perfectly in balance; 
• and they are soft with that nice, thin crust on the outside;
• enjoyable for the big ones and the small ones among us;
• I just had to replace one teaspoon of cinnamon (Ina's recipe had two) with cocoa, because I had used up all my cinnamon;
• and I mixed in some spelt flour, which incorporated pretty well;
• that oil/honey/sugar mix looked peculiar in my mixing bowl...but it came together fine in the end;
• Ina was right about baking time; I followed her instructions to the minute and the cookies came out perfect.