This is the perfect holiday cookie! There’s something about ginger, cloves and cinnamon that makes me think it’s Christmas! Just the aroma of these baking in the oven brings back lots of happy holiday memories!
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~Molasses Cookies~
1 egg
(room temperature)
3/4 cup
butter or ¾ cup shortening plus 3 teaspoons water*
1/4 cup
molasses
1 cup
granulated sugar
2 cups
all-purpose flour
1
teaspoon baking soda
1
teaspoon baking powder
1
teaspoon cinnamon
1
teaspoon ginger
1/2teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/8
teaspoon allspice
Preheat
oven to 375 degrees. In a large mixing
bowl, cream together the sugar and butter (or shortening). Add egg and beat until light and fluffy. Add the molasses and mix until combined.
In a separate
bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg,
cloves and allspice. Stir together. Mix the dry ingredients into the creamed
mixture.
Chill
the dough for several hours. {Note: Most molasses cookie recipes say to chill the
dough, but I never do and the cookies still turn out great! So I personally think this step is optional.}
After
the dough has chilled (or not, in my case), roll the dough into 1” balls and then
roll the balls in sugar. Place the balls
of dough onto an ungreased parchment lined baking sheet 2” apart (they will
spread).
Bake
for 8-10 minutes. Do not allow the
cookies to brown or they will become hard!
Allow the cookies to remain on the baking sheet for 2 minutes after
removing from the oven. Then transfer
cookies from the baking sheet onto wire racks to cool. Yields:
2
dozen cookies
~
Enjoy!
*P.S. Here’s
a side note on Butter VS Shortening in baking... In general, you can substitute shortening for
butter in equal amounts in baking recipes (not the frosting or icing, though –
yuck!). Shortening yields higher,
lighter-textured baked goods, which is sometimes preferable to butter
(depending on what you’re making).
Butter
naturally has some water in it; shortening doesn’t. Cookies made with shortening and no extra
water added, for example, are higher and lighter, while butter cookies are
flatter and crispier. This is because
butter has a lower melting point than shortening, causing them to spread faster
and more in the short time it takes to bake a cookie. If you use shortening, but want an effect
closer to butter, add 1 and 1/2 teaspoons water for every ¼ cup of shortening.
