Holiday Brandy Snaps

Hello my fellow cookie lovers....this one is for you!
Been back in the kitchen a little more lately and getting my cookie groove on. There just isn't anything I don't adore about cookies. Soft, chewy, crunchy, filled, iced....I love 'em all! Probably one of my favorites is the Wondrous Ginger White Chocolate Cookie (you can check out on HEA here!). A winter fav.

My friend Kc and I like to host a holiday cookie exchange in December....I can't wait to see what everyone bakes up this time! 
This year we decided to make our party extra special by combining our party with a fundraiser for the International Princess Project. What an amazing and worthy organization that's giving woman and girls a chance at a new life. Do check them out!
 
I wanted to test out a Brandy Snap recipe, which is a cookie I'd heard of but never made.
They are much like tuille cookies, with a thin batter that spreads out a lot during baking. A little brandy, a little cinnamon, cardamom, and ginger and some chopped pecans. Crispy and buttery, they are yummy by themselves, but would be equally awesome with a scoop of your favorite ice cream (High Road Craft Bourbon Burnt Sugar please!) 
or filled with an orange-scented whipped cream.

In order to shape these into cylinders, you have to work kinda quickly, folding them around the handle of a wooden spoon while still quite warm. A good recipe to grab a friend for....an extra set of hands would be excellent.

Brandy Snaps
Makes about 24

Recipe adapted from "A Girl and Her Pig" by April Bloomfield

1/2 cup sugar
8 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup Lyle’s Golden Syrup {nothing like Lyle's - find it at Whole Foods Market or specialty grocery}
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup toasted pecans, finely chopped {I use my coffee grinder}
2 tablespoons brandy


Preheat the oven to 350°F. 
Combine the sugar, butter, syrup, spices and salt in a small pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then immediately remove from the heat. Whisk in the flour and pecans. Stir in the brandy. Let it cool a bit, till barely warm.
Line a baking sheet with a piece of parchment. You’ll need to bake the cookies in several batches. Do not bake more than one sheet at a time if you plan on forming them into cylinders, as it will be difficult to shape them quickly enough. {Grab your friend!}
Spoon on 1/2 tablespoon of the batter for each cookie, leaving a few inches between them— the batter will spread a lot {and it won't spread to a perfect circle, don't worry, it doesn't matter}. 
You should get 6 cookies per sheet. Bake until the cookies are golden brown, about 11 minutes. Allow them cool for a minute or two. Use a small off-set spatula to gently lift the edges of the cookie and loosen them from the pan. 
If you want to form cylinders, quickly wrap the still warm and pliable cookie around the handle of a wooden spoon and let set. If the cookies start to harden before you have shaped them all, return the pan to the hot oven for 30 seconds to soften.
{You can also just leave the cookies flat, but they aren't quite as pretty that way}.

*Feel free to substitute another nut for the pecans....cashews, pistachios, or almonds would also be nice.