Damn Good Molasses Cookies

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Here is the recipe for those damn good molasses cookies. They are a culmination of our favorite things drawn from four different recipes. I have tinkered with this recipe for years, changing flour ratios, mixing spice blends, swapping one sugar for another, never seeming to get it just right, producing a good cookie, but elusive of that sigh of perfection. I remember texting Ryan a couple of weeks ago with a picture and telling him that I thought we had the “one.” I quick made him a batch and sent it off for final testing. “Fantastic” was the response, the texture finally right. Ryan has been key in honing the texture, I knew I could count on him for an honest answer. Doug would tell me that he needed to try just one more and wander off with a handful of them for further study.

Damn Good Molasses Cookies

Once the eggs and egg yolk are incorporated, add the molasses, the batter should be a lovely creamy caramel color.

Scrape down the mixing bowl, making sure you have scraped all the way down to the bottom. With the mixer on low add the single cup of flour that you sifted and whisked the spices into, I add it a tablespoon at a time – you don’t want to overwhelm all that lovely creaming that you have done. Add the rest of the flour slowly, don’t dump it in by the cupful. Take your time.

Once all the flour has been incorporated, scrape down your beaters and give it a stir by hand with a sturdy mixing spoon. Scoop the cookie dough into an airtight container so it can rest overnight in the refrigerator, it can even rest for two nights. The resting allows good things to happen to the dough.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. I use parchment paper for baking, and prefer half sheet pans, that rim has saved many a batch of cookies from sliding off. I use a #40 cookie scoop, which is 1 1/2 tablespoons. Makes the perfect sized cookie. Scoop out a portion of cookie dough, give a quick roll to shape it, dip the top in coarse sparkling white sugar and place on parchment lined baking pan. I usually get 3 1/2 dozen cookies from a batch. Your numbers may be different depending on how large or small you make your cookies.

I bake mine for 10 minutes, then rotate the tray and bake them for two more minutes. I check them after two, it can be a little tricky. I touch one gently, there should be some resistance, but they should also look slightly underdone in the center – you don’t want too much give, that is under-cooked. But to keep them chewy and wonderful, you need to pull them at just the right time. I sometimes let a tray go another minute, sometimes 30 seconds. Once you have deemed them ready, let them cool on the baking pan on a cooling rack for at least 10 minutes.

I keep my dough refrigerated between batches and if I prep a tray to bake and the oven is occupied, I put that tray in the refrigerator. If your dough gets warm, you will get too much spread when baking.

These cookies are a tribute to the Norsemen in my life, my brothers, and to my mother. Thank you for the endless sampling and answering strange questions like “would you call the spices aggressive or assertive?”

May your homes be filled with peace.

Love, Terri

Damn Good Molasses Cookies

 

Author: Terri Jackson

Recipe type: Dessert

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A soft and spicy molasses cookie that never disappoints.

Ingredients

• 4¼ Cups Bread Flour
• 2 tsp Baking Soda
• 2½ tsp Ground Ginger
• 2 tsp Cinnamon
• ¾ tsp Cloves
• 1 tsp Allspice
• ¼ tsp Cardamom
• ¼ tsp sea salt
• ½ cup butter, room temperature
• ½ cup Spectrum Shortening or Crisco
• 1 cup brown sugar - light or dark
• ½ cup white sugar
• 2 whole eggs, plus one yolk
• ½ cup molasses
• Coarse Sparkling Sugar

Instructions

1. Take the butter and eggs out of the fridge and let them come to room temperature, cold stuff does not play well together. I prep my dry ingredients first. Mom taught us to sift our spices, baking soda, and salt into a single cup of your flour, that flour with the sifted spices will be the first cup of dry ingredients introduced into your wet ingredients.
2. Measure one cup of bread flour into a small bowl.
3. We always lined up our spices on the left, when measured out, the jar went to the right, that way we knew which spices had been added.
4. Whisk flour and spices together until you have a nice blend. This will be the first cup of dry ingredients that you add to your wet ingredients.
5. Cream the butter, shortening, and sugars together until they are light and fluffy, scraping down frequently, especially down at the bottom of your mixing bowl. Add eggs one by one. Remember we are only using the yolk on the third egg. Reserve or freeze the egg white for another recipe.
6. Once the eggs and egg yolk are incorporated, add the molasses, the batter should be a lovely creamy caramel color.
7. Scrape down the mixing bowl, making sure you have scraped all the way down to the bottom. With the mixer on low add the single cup of flour that you sifted and whisked the spices into, I add it a tablespoon at a time - you don't want to overwhelm all that lovely creaming that you have done. Add the rest of the flour slowly, don't dump it in by the cupful. Take your time.
8. Once all the flour has been incorporated, scrape down your beaters and give it a stir by hand with a sturdy mixing spoon. Scoop the cookie dough into an airtight container so it can rest overnight in the refrigerator, it can even rest for two nights. The resting allows good things to happen to the dough.
9. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. I use parchment paper for baking, and prefer half sheet pans, that rim has saved many a batch of cookies from sliding off. I use a #40 cookie scoop, which is 1½ tablespoons. Makes the perfect sized cookie. Scoop out a portion of cookie dough, give a quick roll to shape it, dip the top in coarse sparkling white sugar and place on parchment lined baking pan. I usually get 3½ dozen cookies from a batch. Your numbers may be different depending on how large or small you make your cookies.
10. I bake mine for 10 minutes, then rotate the tray and bake them for two more minutes. I check them after two, it can be a little tricky. I touch one gently, there should be some resistance, but they should also look slightly underdone in the center - you don't want too much give, that is under-cooked. But to keep them chewy and wonderful, you need to pull them at just the right time. I sometimes let a tray go another minutes, sometimes 30 seconds. Once you have deemed them ready, let them cool on the baking pan on a cooling rack for at least 10 minutes.
11. I keep my dough refrigerated between batches and if I prep a tray to bake and the oven is occupied, I put that tray in the refrigerator. If your dough gets warm, you will get too much spread when baking.
12. These cookies are a tribute to the Norsemen in my life, my brothers, and to my mother. Thank you for the endless sampling and answering strange questions like "would you call the spices aggressive or assertive?"

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