Granny M's Molasses Cookie Recipe

As promised, I'm sharing Husband's granny's molasses cookie recipe with you all today. My mother-in-law was kind enough to email me the recipe, due to our munching our way through several batches this past weekend. At one point, we were snatching them up as soon as they came out of the oven. If you enjoy a spicy cookie, these hit the spot and are super easy to make:

Molasses Cookies

(makes approximately 2.5 dozen cookies)

3/4 cup vegetable shortening

1 cup granulated white sugar

1/4 cup molasses

1 beaten egg

2 cups sifted All Purpose flour (I'm lazy and don't sift)

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon cloves

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon table salt

Small bowl of granulated white sugar

In a large saucepan, melt shortening at a medium-high temperature. Keep a close eye on it to avoid flames, and remove from heat once it's completely melted. Cool.

Meanwhile, mix flour, baking soda, spices, and salt and set aside.

Once shortening has cooled, add sugar, molasses, and egg to the shortening and mix well.

Mix in the flour mixture to the shortening mixture.

Chill in fridge for at least an hour or two. Preheat oven to 350 degrees shortly before baking.

Using a spoon, roll dough into balls the size of a small bouncy ball. Dip and roll in the bowl of sugar and place on cookie sheet. Taking a fork, gently make a dent into the dough without flattening the dough completely. Your cookie size should be approximately 2 - 2.5 inches across (thicker, smaller cookies make for chewier ones for this recipe).

Bake for 9 minutes. Let cookies rest for 1-2 minutes on pan, then transfer to cooking rack.

The recipe, written out, sounds more difficult than it actually is, and the prep work can be done under 15 minutes. I highly advise letting the dough chill til it's cold, so that the dough doesn't spread during the baking phase. I also store mine with a slice of bread to keep the cookies moist, although I'm not sure ours even last long enough to worry about that issue.

Happy Hump Day! I'd love to hear feedback if you end up making these soon.




image via