Sometimes cookies are best when you choose to highlight and celebrate one particular flavor. For this week's iteration of the 2012 challenge, the kitchens of Full Moon Cuisine wanted to focus in on a favorite, ginger. And with just a few ingredients and a small amount of time, you can have some cookies that will make pleasant scents permeate your home and make great treats for your diners. Here's what you'll need:

- 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cloves
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- Pinch of salt
- 1 cup dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1/3 cup molasses (unsulfered)
- 1 extra-large egg (at room temp)
- 1 to 1 1/4 cup chopped crystallized ginger
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar (for rolling the cookies)

Note: This recipe will make just under 2-dozen cookies

To begin, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and spray a baking sheet with cooking spray, lining it with parchment paper. In a bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking soda, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, and cinnamon. Make sure to stir thoroughly to mix the ingredients together. In a separate bowl, use a hand mixer to combine the brown sugar, oil, and molasses (careful, it's sticky stuff! I recommend spraying the inside of your measuring cup with cooking spray, this will make it easier to get the molasses out). Once combined, add the egg and mix, using a spatula to scrape down the sides of your bowl. Slowly combine the dry ingredients in thirds, then mix in the crystallized ginger.

Form balls from the dough using a small ice cream scoop or a pair of spoons. Roll the balls in the granulated sugar, coating them all over, then arrange them on your baking sheet. Bake in the oven for 13-minutes, then let rest on the sheet for a couple of minutes, then allow to cool on a wire rack. The tops should be cracked and the insides of the cookies soft and chewy.

These cookies are thick and satisfying, letting the ginger be celebrated. With just enough sweetness to temper the warmth ginger provides, these cookies will be quite potent and unique treats for your diners. The kitchen will be staying open late tonight to help our hungry customers with their ginger needs. Care to place an order?

Want to know what this challenge is all about? Check out my journal and feel free to send in recipes for cookies! http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/3096204/