How to replicate this historic golf club’s famous gingerbread cookies

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While there’s never a bad time for a well-made gingerbread cookie, fall just seems to be calling a little louder for those savory, sweet, baking spice flavors. Coincidentally, it’s fall in Florida Mountain Lake Golf Club reopens after a 26-week hiatus in late spring and summer, and the historic club – known for its enviable Seth Raynor-designed course – is almost as famous for its gingersnaps. Seriously, the pro shop even sells golf belts embroidered with a whimsically woven likeness of those cookies.

Naturally, I contacted the club to learn all the tricks of the trade when it comes to preparing a batch of these gingersnaps. Unsurprisingly, the club wasn’t willing to share the specific recipe it uses – I can’t blame them – but the club’s assistant general manager Aaron Langley did reveal some very important tips. He even shared the club’s secret ingredient: freshly grated, high-quality ginger. He just didn’t specify how much of it to use.

So while I can’t give you a step-by-step guide to making the exact gingerbread cookies that Mountain Lake serves, I can offer you the best: expert guidance for making your own unique batch of gingersnaps—cookies that could become famous in their own right.

A golden ratio

Mountain Lake may be tight-lipped about its own recipe, but the club is happy to help amateur bakers review the more readily available recipes out there. As Langley acknowledges, cookie recipes are all based on proportions, and for gingerbread cookies the most critical ingredients are as follows: 1 part butter, 1.5 parts sugar, 2.5 parts flour, and 1 part molasses (seasoned and extracted with baking soda and ginger). Using that ratio, Langley says that if a recipe seems significantly out of balance, it “could be a sign to stay clear.”

That said, he’s also quick to point out that there isn’t really one universal red flag when it comes to evaluating a prescription’s supposed efficacy. “A big part of baking success depends on how the recipe is executed,” he explains. “A good recipe in the hands of one person can fall into the hands of another if it is not followed with care.”

A measured approach

Even if you have a reliable ratio for your ingredients, your baking efforts can fail based on how you measure those components. “The American system of using cups and teaspoons can lead to variations in results,” Langley acknowledges. “For consistent baking, measuring in grams is much more accurate and helps prevent critical ingredients from being over- or under-measured.”

Molasses makes the difference

“In general, you want a dark, unsulfured molasses that will provide flavor, color and heat without making your cookie bitter,” says Langley, who likes Grandma’s Original Unsulfured Molasses, Brer Rabbit Full Flavor Molasses and Golden Barrel Unsulfured Baking Molasses. ‘But avoid Blackstrap [style molasses],” he adds, “unless you want a sharp, earthy taste.” If you do, Langley warns that you’ll need to add more sugar for balance.

Don’t overwork your dough

According to Mountain Lake’s assistant GM, a common mistake home bakers make when baking cookies is overworking the dough, which can lead to rubbery or dry cookies. “The more you work with your dough, the more gluten is developed,” he explains. “As a rule, you want as little gluten as possible in cookies because it makes them chewy instead of soft, dense instead of crunchy and chewy, and puffy instead of spreading evenly.”

What are the warning signs, you ask? Dough that feels elastic or springy. Dough that looks shiny, pasty, or sticky. (It should have a matte finish.) And if your cookies don’t spread much in the oven, chances are you’ve overworked the dough.

Chew or crunch?

Not everyone likes the same type of cookie, especially when it comes to the way it eats. Soft and chewy is ideal for some; others prefer a crispier bite. Fortunately, steps can be taken to easily achieve both outcomes.

For crispy gingersnaps, Langley likes to use butter instead of shortening. “It will make a big difference in the taste and distribution,” he says. In the same way, replace the baking powder with baking soda. “It helps with dispersion and contributes to that crackly surface and deep color.” Finally, set the oven to 325 degrees and bake your dough for 14 to 17 minutes.

If you like a nice, soft chew, Langley recommends using brown sugar in addition to granulated sugar, going a little heavier on the amount of molasses, scaling back the flour and adding an egg. Counterintuitively, soft and chewy gingerbread cookies also need to be baked at a slightly higher temperature than crispy cookies, just for less time. Langley bakes his at 350 degrees for just 9 to 11 minutes.