Pan Chancho's ginger cookies

I was living in Kingston when the original Pan Chancho bakery opened up. A small offshoot of the successful Chez Piggy restaurant, the shop on Johnson served up loaves of fresh bread each day, as well as some take-home gourmet goodies.

I lived around the corner at the time, in a grubby basement apartment with mouldy walls and a kitchen sink that would occasionally back up, allowing us to witness what our upstairs neighbours had flushed down the drain earlier.

So, needless to say, a new bakery offering up wholesome bread was a bright spot in an otherwise dreary student existence. My roommate Julie and I jumped at the opportunity for an affordable foodie addition to our cooking repertoire. Actually, meals in our little William Street abode were pretty tasty, as I liked to cook and Julie was a talented chef too, whipping up lots of hearty New Brunswick fare like baked beans and a killer mac and cheese. But on the nights that it was too much effort to make a fuss in the kitchen, or those evenings with a double header of Beverly Hills 90210 and Melrose Place beckoned, or the Thursday night line up of Friends and a George Clooney-studded ER called our names (yes, we watched A LOT of TV) dinner was, quite frequently, a loaf of Pan Chancho bread and peanut butter. In fact, sometimes that was chased down with a bottle of White Zinfandel, because we considered ourselves early wine connoisseurs, and topped off with a dessert of Ganong Chicken Bones. It was the high life, I tell ya.

I don’t remember these ginger cookies on offer at Pan Chancho back then, but I have enjoyed them several times since during my day trips to Kingston. Pan Chancho is now in much bigger digs on Princess Street, and boasts its own fabulous restaurant and expanded bakery. (If you’re there for lunch, try the lamb and chickpea wrap – deelish!)

As previously mentioned on this blog, I’m a sucker for most things ginger, and these chewy cookies pack a lot of bite. I’m happy to say that they reproduce rather authentically at home, so I’m most pleased to have the recipe at last. I spruced up my batch with some chopped crystallized ginger for an extra element, but they're just as tasty without.


Get your dry ingredients together. Notice the massive amount of dried ginger? That's hot.

Cream your butter and sugar, then add in the molasses.

Roll out the dough into balls, and coat in remaining sugar. This gives the crackled finish to the cookies.

And here's the final product -- chewy and gingery. Great with a nice cup of tea, and cheaper than a roadtrip to K-town.

Ginger Cookies
From Pan Chancho Bakery cookbook, as reprinted in The Toronto Star

2 cups (500 mL) all-purpose flour

1 tbsp (15 mL) ground ginger

2 tsp (10 mL) baking soda

1 tsp (10 mL) ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp (2 mL) kosher salt

3/4 cup (185 mL) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1-1/4 cups + 2 tbsp (310 mL + 30 mL) granulated sugar

1 large egg

1/4 cup (60 mL) fancy molasses

In medium bowl, whisk together flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.

In large bowl using electric mixer on medium, cream butter and 1 cup (250 mL) plus 2 tbsp (30 mL) sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg, scraping down sides of bowl. Add molasses; beat well. In three additions, beat in flour mixture just until incorporated.

Shape dough into 24 balls, each about 2 tbsp (30 mL). Roll balls in bowl with remaining 1/4 cup (60 mL) sugar. Place several inches apart on large, parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake 15 to 17 minutes in preheated 325F (160C) oven until just golden. (Cookies will spread to about 4 inches/10 cm.)

Makes 24 large cookies.