Molasses Spice Cookies

Last weekend, my hubby and I tried a new restaurant in Raleigh for brunch; it was wonderful.  Irregardless is located in the downtown area, but nestled in more a residential setting rather than a business site.  When we first sat down, they brought us freshly squeezed orange juice and a basket of homemade breads--biscuits to a spiced pumpkin bread.  We both reached for the biscuits first, but after I had finished most of my meal, I broke off a piece of the thinly sliced pumpkin bread and literally couldn't stop eating it!  Really, how embarrassing, I ate 3 thin slices which I decided equaled the size of a slab of bread I'd normally have:-D I love those flavors and it made me realize how much I look forward to autumn so I can bake using them.  However, I thought, why should I wait and decided to bake a cookie today that I know my hubby loves just as much as I do...and, since I'm traveling to Colorado tomorrow, I can take a gift bag with some cookies that I know my friends will love too.

Molasses cookies, with their cracked exterior counterbalancing the uncommonly moist, soft and chewy texture comes from using butter, not shortening and adding an egg yolk rather than a whole egg for tenderness.  When using molasses, it's important to balance that assertive flavor with strong spices--cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and allspice.  Additionally, I added ground white pepper since I sometimes do that in my gingerbread.  Rolling the balls of dough in Sanding Sugar gives the finished cookies a sweet crunchy coating.

Molasses Spiced Cookies
12 T (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup light or dark molasses
1 large egg yolk
2 1/4 cups King Arthur all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. ground allspice
1/4 tsp. ground white pepper
1/4 tsp. Kosher salt

Preheat oven to 375F-degree.  Line two baking sheets with parchment and set aside.  Place 1/2 cup of Sanding Sugar in a shallow dish and set aside.

In a stand mixer, using the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugars together until fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Add the molasses, vanilla and egg yolk and increase speed to medium to beat until incorporated, about 20 seconds.  Whisk the flour, baking soda, and spices together.  On low speed, add the flour mixture; beat until just incorporated.

The dough will seem a little sticky, but don't add more flour.  Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl and make sure there are not "pockets" of flour remaining.

Use a tablespoon-size scoop and drop into the Sanding Sugar.  Roll the ball into the sugar to coat.  Space balls about 2 inches apart on the parchment-lined sheets.

Bake in the preheated oven for 10-11 minutes until browned, still puffy, and have begun to set, but the centers are still soft.  Do not over bake!

 Remove from the oven and let cookies set on the sheet for 5 minutes.  Transfer to a rack to cool to room temperature before serving (or storing!)

Needless to say, my kitchen smelled like autumn was around the corner even though it's 96F degrees here today.  Enjoy! 

Iced Maple~Molasses Cookies & July's Give-Away Apron

It's so hot here (95-degrees with a heat index of 102) that my baking transported me to cooler days and I created a recipe reminiscent of Autumn!  These cookies are scented with ginger, cinnamon, cloves and the tastes of molasses and maple--a cookie I would normally bake for the holidays.

Not to make light of disasters, but on January 15, 1919, in the North End of Boston, a molasses storage tank burst and the streets were flooded with this thick, sticky substance.  It flowed through the streets at 35 miles per hour and killed 21 and injured 150 people.  For several decades, there was a folklore that on hot summer days, the area smelled of molasses!  Well, that's how my kitchen smelled yesterday:-D

Iced Maple~Molasses Cookies
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup Grade B Maple Syrup
1/2 cup Molasses
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
4 3/4 + 3T cups King Arthur All-Purpose Flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 T ground Ginger
2 tsp. ground Cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground Cloves
1/2 tsp. ground Cardamon
1 cup finely chopped almonds

Preheat oven to 350F-degrees.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Cream the butter thoroughly.  Add the maple syrup and molasses and beat together, scrapping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.  Add the eggs, one at a time--the mixture will appear "curdled."  Add the vanilla and mix well.

Add the remaining ingredients and mix on low to incorporate.  The dough will be somewhat stiff.

Form the dough into balls the size of a large walnut or ping-pong ball;-)  Place the balls on the parchment paper and using a cookie stamp, lightly dipped into flour, press a design in the cookies.  The cookie should be about 3-inches in diameter.

Alternatively, you could use a fork to cross-hatch a design (like peanut butter cookies).  Place the cookies in the preheated oven and bake for 12 minutes.  Remove from the oven and transfer to a rack to cool.

 Icing:

1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar (icing sugar)

1 T light Karo syrup

1-2 T very hot water

1/4 tsp. almond extract

While the cookies are warm, use an off-set spatula to spread the icing on top of the cookies.

These cookies were so good with a glass of Iced Tea or, as my hubby had, a tall glass of Lemonade.  Enjoy!

Now, the new apron that will be given away at the end of the month also reflects how hot it is here.  This fabric just jumped out at me in one of my favorite quilt shops!

My Kelly loved the color orange and I think she would approve of my choice.  If you would like to win this apron, just comment on any of the posts this month.  Good Luck!

To put a smile on your face, here's a photo of a squirrel relaxing on one of the Adirondack chairs on the deck.  Since I don't bake with preservatives, the wildlife around here eat pretty good.  This guy has a chunk of bread while stretched out--what a life!