A Tale of Two Cookies

Happy Summer Bloghoppers!
It's been hot hot hot here in upstate NY which means I've been mostly laying in front of the AC watching HGTV all day.  I have been productive but it's just been too humid to blog.  That's not really an excuse but it's the one I'm using. 

Anyhoo, before it got beastly hot one of my friends' fathers fell ill and had to go into the hospital for a while.  When he got home (and is thankfully doing quite well) I decided to bring over a little spirit-lifter in the form of cookies (which I think were much more welcome than a get well bouquet).  One is soft, chewy and spicy, the other is crisp, buttery and fruity.  Kind of a yin and yang of baked goods. 

First contestant, Chewy Ginger Cookies:

Second contestant, Cherry Almond Jumbles:

And here they are all wrapped up and ready to cure what ails ya.

Recipes are posted below.  Stay cool, friends.

Byeeee.

Chewy Ginger Cookies
3/4 cup butter, softened (no marg!)
1 cup sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup dark molasses
1 egg
1/2 tsp ground cloves or allspice
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3 1/2 oz or 100 grams of crystallized ginger, chopped fine

Preheat oven at 375F. Combine softened butter, sugar, molasses and egg. Beat well. In a separate bowl, mix dry ingredients together well. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until incorporated. Add crystallized ginger. Chill for 1 hour (or several hours, can be chilled overnight.) Once batter is cold, form 1 inch balls and roll each one in granulated sugar. Place on greased cookie sheet, 2 inches apart. These will spread out so don't overcrowd your pan. Bake 8-10 minutes. Do not overbake! Makes about 5 dozen cookies.

Cherry Almond Jumbles
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter (2 sticks), at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon almond extract
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup dried cherries, roughly chopped (you can use cranberries)
1 cup sliced almond, lightly toasted* and roughly chopped
Preheat the oven to 350° F.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In a mixer bowl, beat the butter and sugar until smooth. Add the egg and beat until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the extracts and beat.
With the mixer on low, gradually add the flour mixture, mixing until just incorporated. Add the dried fruit and almonds and mix well.
Make cookies by either dropping a walnut size mounds of dough using a tablespoon/s or a 1.5-inch cookie scoop.  Bake until just beginning to brown, 20-24 minutes. Makes 28 cookies using a 1 1/2 – inch cookie scoop

*Toast the almonds in a dry pan on medium-high heat for about 5-10 minutes. Keep shaking the pan until they get a nice light brown color. DO NOT leave the pan unattended. Your almonds will burn and you will feel like a big fat failure. No, but really, they will burn.