Soft, Chewy Ginger Cookies and how to cure a certain type of Nausea

We have an announcement... there's going to be a new addition to the That Means We Get Pie Household.  Our third kid is officially on the way!

He or she will be arriving sometime in March and it's too early at this point to know what the sex of the baby will be, but the preparations have begun.  Time to go to Costco to stock up on the diapers.  Time to prepare the nursery.  Time to dig out the old baby carrier/car seat out of the basement again and to lug the boxes of maternity closes into the bedroom to see if Liz still likes the style.

And speaking of Liz, I feel for her situation right now.  By the 7th week of all her pregnancies, the morning sickness kicks in.  But it's not morning sickness, it's morning, mid-day, afternoon, evening and occasionally midnight sickness.  With the first boy's pregnancy, it lasted about 2 months, but for the second's, it lasted the entire 9 months.  And along with that, her sense of smell has enhanced by ten.  So I have to be REALLY careful about what and when I cook, because just the wrong smell will trigger a race to the bathroom.

Now since she can't have the normal regiment of medications, we have to find new ways to calm her stomach.  One of the more homeopathic methods is to eat ginger.  It has a natural stomach calming agent.  But the problem is that eating it raw is not that appetizing.  And Liz doesn't care for the crystallized ginger, so we must find alternatives.  Ginger ale works well, as long as there's real ginger in it.  A number of the store-bought brands have ginger flavoring, not real ginger, so we need to check the ingredients carefully. 

But I can make these ginger cookies in large batches and they really help her out.  They are moist, not like the crispy gingersnaps.  They are flavorful because of all of the other spices.  And they are encrusted in sugar, so it definitely satisfies the sweet tooth..  I'll add an extra teaspoon or two of ginger to help satiate Liz's stomach.

Now if you're not cooking for a pregnant lady, you can use the recipe below.  They taste wonderful and if you keep then in a airtight bag or container, they'll stay chewy for a week or two. 

Ginger Cookies
Makes about 20

3/4 cup butter flavored shortening, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup molasses
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon water
Some white sugar for rolling

Dump the shortening and sugar into a mixer and beat until creamy.  Add the egg and molasses into the mixer and mix for another 2-3 minutes.  In a separate bowl, add the flour and all of the spices and stir to combine.  Slowly add those try ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until completely combined.  Add water to loosen the dough a little.  Then roll the dough into 1 1/2 inch balls in your hands.  Then take each ball and roll it around in some sugar on a plate until the exterior is coated.

Place them on a ungreased cookie sheet, bake a 350 degrees for 8 minutes, then check, and cook for another 3 minutes.

So make some of these cookies, eat a half a dozen and say it's to help settle your stomach.