Yes, Thanksgiving is over (though, oddly, I still feel like I might be digesting the ungodly amount of turkey consumed) and the “bigger” Holidays are already upon us. From here on out, it is candy canes and peppermint, and garland and COOKIES!…mountains and mountains of cookies.

And if I am going to make holiday inspired cookies by a celebrity, I am going to turn to Amy Sedaris, obviously, for direction.

I am not sure Amy needs any introduction. Basically, if you are unaware of this talented actress/performance artist/cupcake baker, then you have a lot of catching up to do. Her TV show (and movie of the same name), Strangers with Candy – whereupon Amy transforms into Jerri Blank, 46 year-old high school freshmen – is certain to become as important to my generation as Star Wars (at least it should).

And her books! OMG…her hospitality book is pure genius. I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence is perfect. Not only does the book feature Amy, center-fold style and covered in rainbow jimmies, but you also get some great recipes. And one of those recipes is for Gingersnaps which just happens to be one of my favorite holiday cookie. It is my cookie coma cookie (if that make sense to you, you know me very well).

The dough comes together quickly: just 1/2 cup of molasses (not an extraordinary amount for a gingersnap) and the classic dry ingredients. The recipe suggests chilling the dough overnight, but I only chilled the dough a few hours (I was in a hurry to make these), but I should have followed directions – the dough was still tacky and hard to work with.

My first dozen snaps were not a success. I made the ginger dough balls a little too large and they stuck together (bigger is not always better? What?). Also the bake time of eight minutes was a little short. I started to get the hang of things on the second dozen: smaller cookies baked at nine minutes. Though if you like your snaps “softer” bake them for one minute less. Regardless, these cookies are fun, cute, tasty, and Amy Sedaris-like. Keep the whole batch for yourself, or bring them to any holiday party.

Bailiwick Gingersnaps

recipe from: I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence by Amy Sedaris

Ingredients

4 cups flour
4 teaspoon baking soda
3 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons ginger
1 ½ teaspoon cloves
3 sticks (1 ½ cup) margarine, melted (butter?)
½ cup molasses
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
Sanding sugar – to press into cookies

Directions

Mix dry ingredients (except sugar) in a bowl. In mixer add margarine, molasses, sugar, and mix well. Add eggs and incorporate well. Add dry ingredients and mix. Refrigerate dough for several hours, overnight is best. Roll into balls about one inch in size. Place on a cookie sheet and press out with a flat-bottomed glass (rocks or highball) rubbed with margarine and dipped in sugar. Bake at 350 for 8-9 minutes. Yields 7 dozen.