october is here, bring on the cool weather. i love october and not just because it is my birthday month, but because to me it signals that fall has truly arrived. my kiddos requested their favorite cookie, next to a snickerdoodle, these soft and spicy molasses cookies. i think these are awesome too, but strictly a fall cookie. it is just something about the flavors that seem so appropriate. i got the recipe a gazillion years ago from a co-worker and fell in love. they are so moist and chewy, full of cloves, cinnamon and ginger. i was thinking next time i might add some chopped candied ginger. oooh, how lovely, but i am not sure my kids would go for it. this recipe makes a ton of cookies, plenty to eat and plenty to share. enjoy.
beth's soft and spicy molasses cookies
preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit
in a large bowl, cream 1 stick of softened butter and a .5 cup of vegetable shortening. add to that mixture 1.5 cups of sugar and beat till light and fluffy. to the butter mixture add .5 cup molasses and two eggs beat until smooth, turn off mixer.
now, in another bowl sift together your dry ingredients- four cups flour, .5 tsp of salt, 2.25 tsp baking soda, 2.25 tsp ground ginger, 1.5 tsp cinnamon and 1.5 tsp clove. okay, with mixer back on, gradually pour your dry ingredients into your creamed mixture until dough is blended and smooth. the dough will be sticky, so pop it into your fridge for about an hour to make it easier to handle.
in a bowl place about .5 cup more of sugar. you are going to use this for rolling your dough balls. pinch off a piece of cookie dough and roll into about an inch sized ball, roll in sugar and place on your cookie sheets lined with a silpat or parchment about two inches apart. bake for about 13 minutes. do not over bake. allow to cool a few minutes and inhale.
p.s.- these cookies do not spread a lot, so bigger the ball you roll the thicker the cookie. you will have to adjust the baking time.
18 comments:
Perfect timing my husband has been asking me to make molasses cookies for ages!
i recognized them when i saw them! these are wonderful cookies and they stay good a long time.
I haven't had a molasses cookie in a long time. It sounds great. Did you leave the dry ingredients part of the recipe off.
These look delicious and they are waiting patiently in my fridge to be baked. But I don't know what temp. to bake them at. Can you advise?
I am sorry folks, the oven temp was showing up in my draft, but for some reason was not in the published version. So sorry,350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Thanks! This is my first tastespotting recipe that turned out perfect. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you Anonymous! I am so happy you enjoyed them.
I made these yesterday and they were good. Mine were flat though and I was so disappointed as I have been on a quest to find a fat molasses cookie for YEARS! I cannot figure it out. I followed the recipe perfectly. Are my eggs too large? Do you use a certain kind of butter, is darigold a bad kind? I will enjoy each and every chewy cookie...but I WANT THEM to look like YOURS! Thanks for sharing the recipe. Marjie
Oh Marjie, I don't know why yours came out flat. I use plain ole Walmart house brand butter and extra large eggs(simply because that is what I had on hand). I do roll my fairly big, size of a walnut maybe? They should be kinda thick and crackly when ready. Don't over bake them!
Thanks for replying Bethie. Okay...what brand molasses do you use..? and Flour? Do you sift it before you measure it? I live in Seattle maybe my air is too moist? I just ate TWO and they are delicious...and chewy, not over baked..just flat. Next time I want to use your exact ingredients! I will even travel to the walmarts to get your butter! Thanks! Marjie
Marjie, I don't sift a thing. LOL!! It all goes in the mixer straight out of the bag. I am a cheapie, so I use house brand all purpose flour, sugar, you name it. I don't believe you need to make a special trip to Walmart for their butter. I just get it and other supplies because it is cheaper. Make sure you chill your dough good, maybe they won't spread as much then. I would mail you some, but my kids ate them all. My daughter took the last two in her lunch yesterday.
okay ...I don't sift anything either...I do whisk the dry ones together though, and I level off my cups of flour ..is that what you do? ..MY last thought if it is not that I used Grandma's Molasses is that I don't use a silpat or parchment...BUT I DO USE room temperature shinny cookie sheets...maybe I would enjoy the results of a silpat...?? Is that the magic? Thanks for your time. I have TONS of cookies that will all get eaten...but thanks for wanting to share with me. It is just an ongoing search for the puffy cookie that keeps me trying. What will I do once I find it? thanks again!
Oh, I forgot you asked about the molasses. I use Grandma's, too. I love Silpats!! They are not cheap, but worth every penny. I think chilling the dough may be the secret to a puffy cookie. My dough is firm and doesn't seem to spread too much. Oh, I do level off the flour usually with my finger or butter knife. Yes, this makes a ton of cookies and we love to eat them with hot chocolate and coffee. Yummy.
:( I chilled the dough for about 6 hours. I know...sad! It is okay..I WILL TRY AGAIN and succeed. Thanks for all your time. Marjie
Mmmm, molasses is just one of those ingredients that I'm always searching for good recipes that incorporate it. I'll have to try these soon!
Bethie! I tried it again and I was SUCCESSFUL this time! I think it was the butter. I tried a different brand, even bought fresh baking soda just in case. They look just like yours now! YUM! I made a half batch since I still have a quite a few from the first flat batch. The flavor of these cookies (flat or thick!) is the BEST! Thanks...Mission accomplished!
I'm so glad to have found a puffy/chewy recipe for molasses cookies. I just made them and they turned out PERFECT!! Thanks for sharing :)
You must have been reading my mind. I have been craving molasses cookies and was going to make some this weekend, but our local grocery was out of molasses... must be lots of others are thinking about them too (sigh*)
Well, I'm at work today and stopped at another store and picked up a quart of Crosbys... nothing better. I will be baking cookies tonight. Yippee!
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