Triple Threat Ginger Cookies (Gluten Free, possibly vegan!)

To say I love ginger is an understatement.  I adore it.  I yearn for it.  I need it or else my day just doesn't seem right.  It's bordering obsession.  I put it in my oatmeal, on vegetables, I even (gasp!) eat it raw with honey.  Nothing warms up my belly like ginger.  I've heard that too much ginger can give you the "ginger jitters," but that hasn't happened yet.  I'm a little bit surprised.

I was inspired to make ginger cookies after drooling over a fresh ginger muffin recipe over at Orangette.  I, quite sadly, do not have muffin pans.  I don't know how this happened, because there was a time when I owned two of them.  But things have been going missing around here, especially since we moved a bunch of times last year.  So I decided that cookies would be a great (and welcome!) alternative.  Since I had ginger powder, raw ginger, and crystallized ginger in my pantry, I decided to use all three in this gluten free recipe.

To make these delectable cookies, you'll need: (this was hard for me, because I usually make cookies without a recipe and measuring and go by feeling...but I measured what I was doing this time!)

• 1 3/4 cups rice flour
• 3/4 cup millet flour you can use all rice flour, too, but I like to mix things up a bit.  
• 1 cup applesauce unsweetened -- homemade works too!
• 2/3 cup milk you can use soy, hemp. almond, or whatever you enjoy
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger Okay, so I used 3 1/2 in this recipe.  I like it.  My husband likes it.  Take it slow.  If you're really into ginger, go wild and use 3 teaspoons.  
• 1 heaping teaspoon grated ginger
• 1/4 cup chopped crystallized ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon garam masala you can omit this, but it adds a bit of complexity
• rind from 1/2 a lemon, plus a couple spritzes of juice
• 1/4 cup of sugar this is just for sprinkling on top of the cookies -- I tend not to sweeten my cookies too much, but add some sugar and more milk if you're feeling like you need some sweetness. 

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  In a large mixing bowl, add in your dry ingredients, including spices and all variations of ginger -- but not the sugar, unless you're sweetening it up a bit.  I used a cheese grater to grate the ginger and lemon rind, but you can use a microplane or just dice it super well with a knife.  Mix everything together to make sure it's incorporated well -- especially important for the baking powder.  Add the applesauce, milk, spritz of lemon, and mix well.  Scoop onto a greased baking sheet with an ice cream scoop.  I love the size and feel of cookies when I scoop them this way as opposed to using a spoon.  Sprinkle the tops with the sugar.  Bake for 15-20 minutes.  Makes 10.  They go quickly -- we only have 1 left!