Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Grandma B's Molasses cookies



My Great-Grandmother, known in our family as "Grandma B," was not a professional baker, but a home baker of ledgendary ability. Many recipes that were handed down to me came from her, including these old-fashioned molasses crinkle cookies.

These chewy, spicy cookies are a great comfort food that smells and tastes like clove, ginger, molasses and cinnamon. They are wonderful for a crisp Autumn day, or an ideal addition to those holiday cookie platters people put out at Christmas time. The dough can be made way ahead and frozen. You can even roll it into balls and freeze the balls, then all you have to do is thaw, roll in sugar, and bake.

1 1/2 Cups Shortening
2 Cups Sugar
1/2 Cup Molasses (dark or light - it's up to you)
2 eggs
4 Cups Flour
1 tsp salt
4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cloves
1 tsp ginger
2 tsp cinnamon

Melt shortening in a medium saucepan on low heat. Cool a little. Add Sugar, Molasses, and Eggs (it is important to let the molasses cool a little so it doesn't curdle the eggs). Beat good. Have all dry ingredients mixed together in a separate bowl, then mix into the wet ingredients and stir until well blended (you can transfer it into a kitchenaid mixer to do this part if you'd like). Chill the dough for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight. Roll into balls about the size of a ping-pong ball. Roll the balls in sugar and bake at 350 degrees for about ten minutes, or until crackled on top and golden brown at the edges.






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