ginger cookies (vegan)

here is yet another recipe from vegan with a vengance (i promise i'll move on soon!). these are the ultimate ginger cookies with a nice spicy bite from the ginger and a rich molasses body. that they happen to be vegan is just a bonus.

these cookies can be either crispy and wafer-like or crispy on the edges and chewy in the center, depending on how thick or thin you flatten the dough out when forming the cookie. myself, i like a very thin and crispy biscuit (like a gingersnap) so i make them a little smaller and quite flat. they're very good either way. pressing the coarse sugar on the top gives them a pretty, sparkly surface which is not pictured above since i only had the regular stuff and past experience using regular grained sugar for that sparkled look resulted in a sloppy, mottled appearance.

sparkled ginger cookies
4 Tablespoons coarse sugar (turbinado or demerrera or "sanding" sugar)
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 Tablespoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 cup canola oil
1/4 cup molasses
1/4 cup soy milk
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

sift dry ingredient (except sugar) into a bowl and set aside. in a large bowl combine wet ingredients, including sugar and whisk or beat on medium until blended. stir in the pre-sifted dry ingredients and mix until well combined. the dough will be quite sticky and you may need to dampen your hands to work with it. roll the dough into little balls (about 1 Tablespoon) and flatten out to your liking... the thinner the cookie the crisper it will be - a slightly thicker cookie will yield a crunch on the edges and a slightly chewy interior. press the coarse sugar onto the tops of the cookies and bake about 10 minutes at 350 on a greased cookie sheet.