1940s Recipes + Menus

Brandy Snaps

July 1949
Brandy Snaps

G
Gingersnap lovers will swoon over these extra-thin, melt-in-the-mouth cookies. Removing them from the baking sheet while they’re still warm and rolling them around the handle of a wooden spoon results in long, delicate cylinders that make perfect accompaniments to tea or ice cream.

This is just one of Gourmet’s Favorite Cookies: 1941-2008. Although we’ve retested the recipes, in the interest of authenticity we’ve left them unchanged: The instructions below are still exactly as they were originally printed.

Heat together in a saucepan 1 1/2 cups each butter and sugar and 1 cup molasses, stirring the mixture until it is well blended. Stir in 4 teaspoons powdered ginger, remove the pan from the heat, and add 3 cups sifted all-purpose flour, a little at a time, beating well after each addition. Drop the batter from the tip of a spoon onto a buttered cooky sheet, allowing 2 inches between the wafers. Bake in a slow oven (300° F.) for about 12 minutes, or until they are nicely browned. Remove from the pan immediately with a spatula and roll the wafers over a wooden stick or the handle of a wooden spoon. Or, if preferred, shape them into cones. Store the brandy snaps in airtight containers.

As a variation, 1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon rind may be added to the batter with the ginger.

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