Gingersnap Buttercream Cookie Sandwiches

Gingersnap Buttercream Cookie Sandwiches 

The holidays are in full-swing, which means we're baking like maniacs over here! Between the parties with friends and family, gifts for co-workers, and recipe testing for the cookbook (out Fall 2016!), our oven have been getting plenty of use and my waistline is feeling a little larger than usual. But that's okay, because there are only a few weeks left and by then we'll be so sick of cookies and baked goods we won't want anything to do with them for months. But for now, I'm all about that perfect chewy cookie. And these, my friends, are two perfectly chewy, spiced cookies sandwiching a rich buttercream frosting...and they are DAMN good! Using fresh ginger and nutmeg in these cookies really make the flavors rich and bright, and the molasses help keep 'em chewy - and adds some iron and calcium so you can pretend they're a health food. That's how that works, right? 
My favorite part of these cookies is that I like them. I mean it! For years, I have avoided ginger and molasses cookies. I never like the weird sticky-sweet flavor of them and though they tasted kind of bland or too molasses-y. But these cookies? These are mind-changing, crowd-pleasing, are packed with spicy ginger flavor and just enough sweet molasses to balance out the bite of the ginger. Wanna cut the sugar? Skip the buttercream frosting and just eat the cookies as is, they're pretty darn delicious on their own!

INGREDIENTS
Cookies:
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg 
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup coconut oil, solid (OR sub vegan butter)
3 tablespoons ground flax
3 tablespoons molasses
2 tablespoons fresh ginger, grated
1 teaspoon vanilla

Buttercream filling:
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup vegan butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1-2 tablespoons unsweetened non-dairy milk

fresh nutmeg, for garnish

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.

In a separate bowl or stand mixer cream together the brown sugar and coconut oil. Stir in the ground flax, molasses, ginger, and vanilla until completely combined. 

Pour the dry ingredients into the wet about a cup at a time, stirring continuously, until the cookie dough comes together. 

Scoop 1-in balls of cookie dough onto a lined baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes, until edges are firm. Move the cookies to a wire rack to cool. 

While the cookies bake and cool, prepare the buttercream frosting by beating together the powdered sugar, butter, and vanilla. Add in milk a bit at a time, until the desired frosting texture is achieved. 

Spread the buttercream onto half of the cooled cookies, and move to the fridge or freezer for 10 minutes to firm the frosting before topping it with another cookie. Once the sandwiches have been assembled, grate fresh nutmeg over the sandwiches and gobble 'em up!

NOTES
Makes 20 cookies, or 10 cookie sandwiches.

After the cookies cooled, we placed some of the frosting on top and then place them in the freezer for 10 minutes to set the frosting before placing the second cookie on top. Otherwise, the frosting tends to smoosh out the sides a bit. If you won;t be serving them immediately, I recommend keeping them in the fridge until just before serving.

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