According to the blurb with this recipe, Ginger Cemetery Cookies were sold to help restore an old cemetery in Lynchburg, Virginia. They got to be very popular and were sold at nearly every fundraiser and that’s how they got to be called Cemetery Cookies. With ginger and other spices, I thought they’d make a great Halloween treat! Hope you like them!
Ginger Cemetery Cookies 
Active Time: 35 mins
Total Time: 3 hrs 49 mins
Yield: 7 to 8 dozen
Ingredients:
12 Tbsp. (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar, plus 1/4 cup for rolling
1 large egg
1/4 cup molasses
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
Directions:
Place the butter and the 1 cup sugar in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add the egg and molasses and beat until just combined, 30 seconds. Scrape down the bowl and set aside.
Sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and salt in a medium bowl. Add half of the flour mixture to the butter and sugar mixture, beating on low speed until just combined. Add the remaining flour mixture and beat until just combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and stir until smooth. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill for at least 3 hours or preferably overnight.
When you are ready to bake, heat the oven to 325ºF, with a rack in the middle. Put the 1/4 cup sugar in a small bowl. Roll the dough into 1-inch balls and roll in the sugar. Place 2 to 3 inches apart on 12-by-17-inch ungreased baking sheets and flatten to 1/4-inch thickness with the bottom of a glass.
Bake, one pan at a time, until firm and crisp, 10 to 14 minutes. Immediately remove from the pan to cool on a wire rack. Repeat with the remaining dough, cooling the pan between batches. Let the cookies cool to room temperature, 15 minutes, before serving. Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
Recipe Note:
Taken from Baking in the American South: 200 Recipes and Their Untold Stories by Anne Byrn. Copyright © 2024 by Anne Byrn. Photographs © 2024 by Rinne Allen. Used by permission of Harper Celebrate.
Recipe courtesy of Southern Living.
Dang, that looks good! Email me a bit, will you?
