Cardamom gingersnaps

Merry Day After Christmas! I meant to post this beforehand, but you know how it is. This is my absolute favorite cookie recipe, spicy and festive but delicious at any time of year. (I baked a couple of batches for my launch party in July '07 and they went over very well.)

Slightly modified from a recipe in Sara Perry's Great Gingerbread:

1½ cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
4 teaspoons ground cardamom
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup unsalted butter, melted
½ cup vegetable shortening
¾ cup white or brown sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla
¼ cup molasses
½ cup raw sugar

Sift the flour, baking soda, 3 teaspoons cardamom, ginger, nutmeg, and salt. In a separate bowl, beat butter, shortening, and white/brown sugar (using an electric mixer if available), until mixture is creamy. Beat in vanilla. Stir in the dry ingredients alternately with the molasses until fully blended.

Lay out two pieces of plastic wrap, spoon half the dough onto each piece, roll into logs, and refrigerate for two hours. Pour raw sugar and last teaspoon of cardamom onto a plate and mix evenly. With oven preheated to 350ºF, pull off spoonfuls of chilled dough, form into slightly flattened balls, and roll edge along sugar/cardamom mixture on the plate. Place balls 1½" apart on greased cookie trays and bake for 12 minutes.

Yields approximately four dozen cookies.