By Shruti Patel

Daily Titan Photo Editor

I love the holiday season, and every year as soon as October comes around, I get into the holiday spirit by making a fresh batch of ginger snaps.

The aroma of freshly-grated ginger wafting through the house takes me back to my childhood and my mom in the kitchen, calmly cooking when there was nothing but chaos around her.

As the years progressed and I began the process of taking over some of the cooking for the holidays, I have carried on the tradition of the ginger snaps at Christmas.

But I have also added my own festive twist to my mother’s original recipe.

Even though we like to try new recipes and dishes for the holidays, who likes to be stuck in the kitchen when everyone is over?

That is a big reason why I love this recipe, and it’s always a star player at my holiday dinners.

The ginger snaps are really easy to make. Even with the extra step at the end, you will be able to make and serve them while still being able to partake of the holiday fun.

The actual cookies only take about 10 minutes to bake, so you can always make more since the family will love them!

Mother’s Ginger Snaps:

1 1/2 cups butter, unsalted preferably

2 cups brown sugar

1/2 cup molasses

2 eggs

4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

6 tablespoons finely grated fresh ginger (strained)

1 teaspoon salt

4 teaspoons baking soda

Simply preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Beat the butter and brown sugar until it has an airy consistency and slowly add in the molasses and eggs.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt. Add in the dry mixture to the creamed butter and then blend in the ginger. Place on a baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes.

Now the part that I have added to make it more of a dessert for the holidays is to take:

1 cup chunky peanut butter

1/3 cup milk

1/3 cup of honey

1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon

Combine all of the ingredients in a saucepan and stir until smooth over low heat.

After everything has come together and has a good consistency, scoop some vanilla ice cream into a bowl, crush your ginger snaps and spoon your sauce. You can also add a few ginger snaps on top to garnish.

A Perfect Holiday Pairing

Every year I like to make a batch of alcohol-infused eggnog for the family.

The good thing about eggnog is that it is perfect to pair with a holiday desert, such as the ginger snap sundae featured on this page, or is delicious on its own.

I had no idea how to make eggnog my first time trying to make it, so over the years I’ve tried quite a few. My favorite so far is called “Granddad’s Favourite Eggnog” from

EggNogRecipe.net.

All you need is:

4 eggs, with the yolks and whites separated

1 1/2 cups milk

1 1/2 cups whiskey

1 cup cream

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup white rum

A couple pinches of nutmeg

In one bowl, beat the egg yolks with half of the sugar until well mixed and then set aside.

In another bowl, combine the egg whites with remaining sugar and beat until stiff peaks form.

Then add the yellow egg mix to the whites and mix together, stir in the rum, milk, whiskey and cream. Sprinkle nutmeg on top and serve. Note: Adding more alcohol to the recipe will not alter the consistency or serving size, but will increase holiday cheer.

This recipe serves about eight.