molasses spice cookies
I don’t make molasses cookies at any time other than winter, so along with sweet potato pies, these dominate my holiday baking. For good reason, with their chewy, spicy, molasses-rich goodness, they fall easily on my “Top 5 Greatest Cookies of All Time” list. If you’re looking for a way to use molasses this winter — and of course you are, since it’s winter and you’re required to have a large store of molasses on hand — trust me when I say that these are a good start.
molasses spice cookies
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup dark brown sugar (or 1/2 cup granulated sugar combined with a teaspoon molasses)
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar, plus 1/4 cup for rolling cookies
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup molasses
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix together flour, baking soda, salt, and spices in a bowl, and set aside.
By hand or with an electric mixer, beat the butter for 2 minutes. Add the brown sugar and 1/2 cup of granulated sugar and beat until light fluffy, another three minutes or so. Add egg, vanilla and molasses and beat until combined, and scrape the sides with a plastic spatula to get the rest. Add dry ingredients and beat until just combined.
Place the remaining sugar in a bowl. Working with walnut-sized balls of dough, roll in the sugar and place on a prepared baking sheet (well buttered or with parchment paper), spaced about an 1 1/2 inches apart.
Bake for about 11 minutes, and allow them to cool for about 5 minutes before moving them to cooling racks. Enjoy with milk, tea or coffee, or serve with a side of chilled monkey brains.
(Source: simplyrecipes.com)
