Aunt Isabelle's Ginger Cookies

"When I signed up to do the Food Blogger Cookie Swap, I was thinking about how it supports a great cause, but not so much about the fact that I don't really bake and definitely don't have any amazing completely original cookie recipes. Oops. So, over Thanksgiving dinner I was lamenting this cookie dilemma when one of our guests (yes, yes, it was Stacy again!) started raving about her Aunt Isabelle's famous ginger cookies. She warned me that they were involved and kind of a pain to make, but that they were worth all the effort. I loved the idea of sharing a family recipe, but I loathed the idea of making a difficult cookie. Soooo not my thing! But I asked her to let me take a look at the recipe and think about it. I had to admit, it sounded delicious. You know I couldn't leave well enough, so I set out to dumb down the recipe (sorry Aunt Isabelle!). Admittedly, I've never tried the original version so I don't actually know how it compares, but I have to say the baking-for-dummies variety is really REALLY good!"