Brandy Snaps

I ended the year right with some brandy.

As in, made some desserts with that brandy, is what I mean. Heh.

It's hard to find brandy snaps around the United States, as they are delicacies commonly found in the U.K. or Australia. It was an interesting experience making these, as I had never tasted them before. I like them. I think this particular recipe uses a bit too strong flavoring of the brandy, so I personally reduced the amount in mine in the second batch, but they are crisp and very yummy.

Feel free to fill them with whipped cream. Or if you're like me, you can serve them on their own. Brandy snaps make for wonderful gifts or desserts for dinner guests.

Happy baking and entertaining!

Carefully spoon the batter onto the prepared cookie sheet. A little bit of batter does it! These spread like crazy in the oven, so don't use more than a teaspoonful at a time.

The cooked batter resembles honeycombs. Just a little bit. Yes? No? Eh, whatever.

Let them cool for just a bit, or until they are able to get, uh, "spatula-d"  (Little Miss English major  running out of good words here) without tearing.

Then... flip!

Quickly start to roll the brandy snaps using a cannoli mold, long wooden stick, or the handle of a ladle, whisk, what-have-you. Slide the brandy snaps out and let them cool.

OR you can be like me and roll them yourself. Whatever works. 

Now, don't be discouraged if these are a little hard to handle at first. I think my second batch was a lot better than my first, for sure. Make these on a free afternoon when you have some time, and just have fun. You'll get the hang of them in no time. 

Good luck!

Brandy Snaps

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup butter
• 3 Tbsp light molasses
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1-2 Tbsp brandy, depending on your taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. In small saucepan over medium heat, heat butter and molasses, stirring occasionally. Remove saucepan from heat; with spoon, stir in flour, sugar, ginger, and salt until smooth. Stir in brandy until blended. Return saucepan to very low heat to keep mixture warm.
2. Drop 1 teaspoon mixture onto cookie sheet. With back of spoon, spread in circular motion to make 4-inch round. Repeat to make 3 more rounds, spacing them about 2 inches apart.
3. Bake cookies about 5 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly. Remove from oven and allow cookies to cool briefly, or until edges set. With pancake turner, flip cookies over quickly so lacy texture will be on outside after rolling.
4. Working as quickly as possible, roll each cookie into cylinder around handle of wooden spoon or dowel (about 1/2 in diameter). If cookies become hard to roll, return to oven briefly to soften. As each cookie is shaped, remove from spoon handle. Cool on wire racks.

Source: Adapted from The Good Housekeeping Illustrated Book of Desserts