These cookies pack a triple punch with ground ginger, freshly grated ginger, and crystallized ginger. A touch of honey tempers the bite and adds richness. We love to build these into sandwiches with Cinnamon Ice Cream (page 143) in the winter or Plum Sorbet (page 144) in the summer.

　　

Ingredients

Makes about 2 dozen 3-inch cookies

　　12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter

　　1 cup sugar

　　1 large egg

　　2 cups all-purpose flour

　　1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

　　1/4 teaspoon salt

　　1 tablespoon ground ginger

　　1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger

　　1/4 cup crystallized ginger, finely diced

　　2 tablespoons honey

　　

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter two 12 × 17-inch rimmed baking sheets. Set aside.

　　

Step 2

Cream the butter and sugar together in a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer on high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and continue to mix on low speed until just incorporated.

　　

Step 3

Mix together the flour, baking soda, salt, and ground ginger in a bowl. Add half of the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix to combine. Add the fresh ginger, crystallized ginger, and honey and mix to combine. Add the remaining flour mixture and mix to combine. The dough should be fairly sticky.

　　

Step 4

Chill the dough in a bowl covered with plastic wrap in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

　　

Step 5

Using a small ice-cream scooper, scoop the dough into 1-inch balls and place on the prepared baking sheets, leaving at least 2 inches between cookies.

　　

Step 6

Bake for 12 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking, until the cookies are brown around the edges and lightly colored in the center.

　　

Step 7

Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes before transferring them with a spatula to a wire cooling rack to fully cool.

　　Reprinted with permission from The Meatball Shop Cookbook by Daniel Holzman and Michael Chernow with Lauren Deen. Copyright © 2011 by Daniel Holzman and Michael Chernow; photographs copyright © 2011 by John Kernick. Published by Ballantine Books, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved.Daniel Holzman is executive chef at The Meatball Shop. He is an alum of Le Bernadin, San Francisco's Fifth Floor, and Aqua, among other highly acclaimed restaurants. He attended the Culinary Institute of America, where he received a full scholarship from the James Beard Foundation.Michael Chernow runs the front-of-house operations and the beverage program at The Meatball Shop. He has worked extensively in restaurants in New York and Los Angeles. He is a graduate of the French Culinary Institute, where he earned degrees in culinary arts and restaurant management. He and Holzman met as teenagers when they worked together as delivery boys at the New York vegan restaurant Candle Café. Needless to say, the vegan thing didn't really stick.Lauren Deen is the author of the New York Times bestselling Cook Yourself Thin series and Kitchen Playdates. She is an Emmy award—and James Beard award— winning television producer and director. She is currently executive producer of food(ography) on the Cooking Channel.