Katrina Rozelle is a San Francisco Bay Area legend. Her fame for elegant (and delicious) buttercream wedding cakes is widespread, was noted in contemporary wedding blogs such as weddingwire.com and the knot, and was celebrated in InStyle Magazine, Bay Food, Brides Magazine, Town and Country, and on Instagram at #katrinarozelle.

Now retired and having closed her eponymous bakery (in January 2020), Katrina Rozelle is remembered, not only for her cakes, but for buttery cookies worth their weight in epicurean gold.

For years, I was a devoted and loyal patron. I mean, every dinner party ended with a slice of her Erica cake! When word spread that she was closing her Oakland and Alamo shops, my friends and I were astonished, unbelieving, and felt great sadness. It had to be an ugly rumor! But no, and lucky me, she closed her Alamo shop last. So, as a resident, I can tell you the lines were long and tempers short as we waited for anything - cakes and cookies - and eventually cookie dough(!) that she produced up to the very last day!

My favorite cookies were her Ginger cookies. They were soft, chewy, and richly spiced. Made with molasses and candied ginger, they were comforting and unforgettable! So I bought as many as I could those last few days, and put them in my freezer, to sample a little bit over time so I wouldn’t forget the taste.

Here is a recipe I developed that produced a buttery and thin version of Katrina Rozelle’s Ginger cookie. I have been dreaming of this cookie since January (we’re in April now), and this is my first version. I’ll work on it a little more to refine the ingredient amounts, but I think I have the basics. I’ll let you know if I revise it here.

Please do try it, and let me know what you think, and what you’d do to make it better. I’d love to read your comments!

Directions and Ingredients:

All ingredients in grams (imperial equivalent in [ ])

**in grams**

225g unsalted* butter (room temp) [slightly less than 2 cubes]

125g unpacked dark brown sugar [1 cup]

32g granulated (white) sugar [1/4 cup]

100g [4 T] dark molasses

50g [2 T] honey

2.5g salt [1/2 teaspoon]

1 teaspoon of the best vanilla extract you can find

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1 egg

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250g All Purpose flour [2 cups]

2.5g baking soda [1/2 teaspoon]

2 T plus 1 teaspoon ground ginger (this is the powdered variety you can find at the supermarket)

2 teaspoons pureed fresh ginger (grate with a microplane)

1/8 teaspoon white pepper

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

scant 1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom (be careful with this, the flavor can be overwhelming)

1 cup finely minced candied ginger

1 cup currants soaked in brandy

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*if you don’t have unsalted butter, use salted butter, but reduce the salt in this recipe from 1/2 teaspoon to 1/4 teaspoon.

Preheat oven (convection) to bake at 350°

Cream first 7 ingredients.

Add egg, incorporate fully.

Sift dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, spices) and combine

Fold in currants, grated ginger, and candied ginger. Do not over mix.

On a parchment lined sheet, place a generous rounded spoonful of the cookie dough about 2 inches apart.

Bake at 350° (convection oven) for 8-10 minutes. Cookies will be slightly brown at the edges and golden overall.

When your cookies are done, cool over a wire rack, and enjoy with a cold glass of milk (if you have a grownup beverage you like with Ginger cookies, please let me know in the comments below!).

If you have any remaining dough, form into a log with waxed paper, seal the wax paper covered log with plastic wrap so it won’t dry out. Chill forever. When ready to use, slice log into small rounds and place on parchment paper lined cookie sheet about 2 in. apart.

Note: I prefer them cooked at 8 minutes. That way they stay slightly chewy.

Lessons from my Mother:

• Vanilla extract is your secret weapon for any sweet dessert.

• I used organic ginger and molasses and spices, just because.

• When measuring dry goods, such as sugar and flour, never pack your measuring cup unless the instructions tell you to. Lightly spoon your ingredients into the correct measuring cup, and level with the back of a knife. This will ensure consistent and accurate measurements every time.

• Be careful with baking soda, even a tiny bit over the measure can give your baked goods a funny taste. Not enough will give you a soft cookie with no crunch.

• Creaming and sifting are important because they ensure all your ingredients are fully incorporated, preventing surprise flavors from showing up when eating, and they ensure even cooking. For example, you don’t want to bite into a tiny baking soda pocket in your cookie.

• Use parchment paper when preparing your cookie sheets. It’s easy, doesn’t stick, feels clean and you will know your ingredients are exact.

• I like to use extra large eggs in all my recipes because they give added richness.

The products I used in this recipe are:

• Straus Family Creamery Organic Unsalted butter

• Wholesome Mindfully Delicious Organic Dark Brown Sugar

• 365 Everyday Value Organic Cane Sugar

• Grandma’s Gold Standard All Natural Molasses (unsulphured) Original

• Arm & Hammer Pure Baking Soda (I wouldn’t know what else to use, it’s the only baking soda I see at the store, and it’s what my mother used when I was a child)

• Frontier Co-op Organic Vanilla Extract

• Hain Pure Foods Iodized Sea Salt

• Aurora’s Natural Australian Naked Ginger