Accounting for Taste

The Mr. loves a good spice cookie so he wanted to make sure we got them in the holiday extravaganza rotation this season. Since it’s his passion, I let him pick out which recipe would make the cut. After a bit of research he found this Ginger Spiced Molasses Cookie on oliveandmango.com which apparently was adapted from a Martha Stewart recipe. These homemade soft molasses cookies with crackly tops are super chewy and so perfectly spiced.

Delightfully chewy with a crisp sugar coated exterior and plenty of spice and warmth, these ginger spiced molasses cookies are impossible to resist. They have the perfect balance of sweet molasses, spicy ginger, and warm cinnamon.

Chilling the cookie dough is always a good idea to allow the flavors and textures to develop. If you skip the chill time they will still be delicious but the dough will spread out more when baked and the cookies will be thinner.

Interestingly the original recipe indicated the yield to be 30 cookies, when in fact I ended up with 52! So it all depends on how large you roll them. I did as the directions instructed at about a 1 tablespoon ball… oh well, the more the merrier, especially during the holidays!

Ginger Spiced Molasses Cookie

Servings: Yields 4 doz+
Time: 1 hr, 30 min
Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

2½ cups all-purpose flour
2¼ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. ground ginger
1½ tsp. ground cinnamon
½ tsp. ground clove
¼ tsp. ground allspice
½ tsp. ground pepper
¾ cup (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
½ cup packed light-brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar, plus ⅓ cup for coating
6 Tbsp. molasses
2 Tbsp. dark rum
1 large egg

Directions

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, clove, allspice, and pepper.
Cream the butter, brown sugar, and ½ cup granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in molasses, egg and rum. With mixer on low, gradually beat in flour mixture until just combined. Wrap bowl in plastic, and freeze for 20 minutes or refrigerate 1 hour or up to 2-3 days. Meanwhile preheat oven to 350°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.
Remove cookie dough from the refrigerator. If the cookie dough chilled longer than 2 hours, let it sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.
Place remaining ⅓ cup granulated sugar in a bowl. Roll cookie dough, 1 tablespoon each, into balls. Roll each in granulated sugar and arrange 3 inches apart on the baking sheets. Bake for 11-12 minutes or until edges appear set. If the tops aren’t appearing cracked as pictured, remove the baking sheet from the oven and gently bang it on the counter 2-3x. This will help those warm cookies spread out and crack on top. Return to the oven for 1 additional minute.
Remove from the oven and allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Cookies will stay fresh covered at room temperature for 1 week.

http://www.lynnandruss.com