Molasses Cookies

Charles, my beloved husband, kept saying to me, "You keep promising me you are going to make those, but you never do."  So I finally did.  I looked for recipes for molasses cookies, similar to the ones that I remember making in culinary school.  I remember being proud of myself, capable of producing these wonderful treats from scratch.  

Thick & cakey batch

And now I get to share them with my hubby. He took a bunch to work for their Thanksgiving feast, and I made a separate batch to take to our traditional Thanksgiving family meal. Both batches came out a little bit different.  One was flat and crunchy, and the other was thick, soft, and cakey.  Both were very tasty.  The difference very well could have been the temperature of the butter before it was put into the mixture, or the amount of time the mixer ran at each stage of mixing.

Thin & Crunchy batch

The recipe I found is a little different from the one we used in school, but it's just as tasty.  I actually got this recipe from America's Test Kitchen's All-Time Best Holiday Recipes Magazine.  The magazine has lots of good recipes, mostly the popular ones you are always looking for during the holidays.  (I find their recipes a little difficult to follow, so I shortened the steps a bit.)

 

Molasses Cookies

1/3 c. sugar, plus some for rolling cookies in

2 ¼ c. a/p flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 ½ teaspoons ground ginger

½ teaspoon ground cloves

¼ teaspoon allspice

¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened but cool

1/3 c. packed dark brown sugar

1 large egg yolk

1 teaspoon vanilla

½ c. molasses

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Whisk flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, allspice, salt and pepper in small bowl. Set aside.
3. In mixing bowl with paddle, cream butter, brown sugar, and white sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
4. Decrease mixer speed and add egg yolk and vanilla. Mix only until incorporated.
5. Add molasses and beat until incorporated. Scrape down as necessary. Dough will be soft.
6. Scoop teaspoon size balls with small scoop, or bigger if desired. Roll generously in white sugar and gently press tops. Place on baking sheet and bake for 9 minutes (small cookies) or for 11-13 minutes for larger cookies. Do not over bake. When cookies are done, the centers will still be soft. Let cool and enjoy!

got milk???