Gingersnaps

 My first Christmas in the US a little over two decades ago was an odd one. The small New England town, where my college campus was located was all snowed in. I was recovering from the pace of school coupled by with my first internship. I declined my aunt’s invitation to stay with her over the break.

As Christmas eve dawned, I was surprised to see the streets getting quiter and quieter and the roads were cold, white and lonely. Festivals in Kolkata, where I grew up are a noisy affair, even you you have nothing to do. I have since learnt that “holidays” in the US are family celebrations and time for catching up with friends and family. This is of course something I have learnt to enjoy and appreciate now that I have my own crazy family.

I looked at the scrap bag gifts, including the one from my roommate – a cookbook. A cookie cookbook to be precise. Ironically enough, this is one cookbook that has survived the test of time. It was a book named – Mrs Field’s Cookie Book. I leafed and marked some recipes. I have made some of these marked. My favorite from this is her Gingersnaps recipe, which for me does fall in to the amended category, but my variation is now somewhat modified from the original, especially since I add in a nice dose of fresh ginger. I had initially done this by accident however, looks like this variation is a keeper.