When I think of these cookies I am instantly transported back to my childhood during Christmastime. When I was young my family used to get together on Christmas Eve to have dinner and to have “Santa” (all of my aunts, uncles, adult cousins and grandparents) exchange gifts for all of us children. It was very secretive, they would go outside while we played to make the exchange. We had no idea that this all took place, we just woke up on Christmas morning with a ton of gifts from Santa Claus. My grandmother not only purchased gifts for everyone in the family but she would also bring a gift bag full of her baked goods that she lovingly made for us. That, to me, is what made my Christmas morning.  Sure, the gifts were pretty awesome, but all I really wanted were these cookies (and her zucchini bread, a recipe for later). I would eat them as fast as I could, knowing that if I didn’t someone else, usually my brother, would get them first. As I got older she would put an extra bag of these ginger crinkles in our package because she knew that they were my favorite. I grew to admire how early she started her holiday baking to make sure that everyone received a bag of every kind of cookie that she made and a loaf of her zucchini bread. In my mind she didn’t bake all of these yummy treats because she had to, but because she wanted to. These little cookies are truly perfect. They have a snap when you bite into them and a combination of molasses and ginger flavor that marry each other wonderfully.  As a child I would eat them by themselves possibly with some milk.  When I married my husband he began eating these little treats with vanilla ice cream.  Wow, is all I can say. My mother-in-law enjoys her crinkles with coffee and my Aunt Pam has served them with peppermint ice cream, like a parfait. Decades after first biting into these ginger crinkles they still are and forever will be my favorite cookie.  It may be the memories that they bring back the minute they go into the oven, or the taste, or both. I am very grateful that I have been able to carry on my grandmother’s tradition of ginger crinkles during the holidays. My children usually join me in my Christmas morning ritual of eating a ginger crinkle or three before everyone assembles in our kitchen for breakfast. Thank you Grandma for passing this recipe to me and allowing me to share it with all of my family and friends.  Please enjoy!!