And these are the real deal.
Mostly sugar, I enjoy them frosted for that little extra sugar kick!
My friend, Aimee, thinks they are the best and she should know: her mom makes great molasses cookies, but mine are better! (I will not disclose her last name just in case her mom happens upon this post...)
If you need further proof, Dennis and I once ate through twelve dozen (yes, 144) of these babies on a four day road trip!
So, here is the recipe. It is Gail's brother's friend's mom's recipe...
If you decide to make them, you should just go ahead and double the batch. The original recipe was written for weenie midgets. Hell, I usually make a triple batch or more; you know, about a one week supply of sugar.
I am currently making a huge batch for the upcoming Utah road trip.
3/4 C shortening
1 C sugar
1/4 C molasses
1 beaten egg
2 C sifted flour
2 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
1 t. cinnamon
1 t. cloves
1/2 t. ginger
In one large mixing bowl:
Cream the shortening and sugar. I use a pastry blender (I need a new one, by the way, with a comfortable handle and slightly stiffer wires. Anybody have a recommendation?) Add the molasses and egg, beat well. (I just keep using the blender, takes about 5 minutes and suddenly it is not at all "lumpy, just a smooth creamy like texture.)
In a second large mixing bowl:
Add all the dry ingredients, mix well.
Now, here is the hard part made easy:
You are supposed to add the dry ingredients to the egg-shortening-sugar-molasses mix. I finally figured out how to do it. I scoop in about a half-cup of the dry mix at a time, and just blend it with the pastry blender. It takes a little time, but it is nice and smooth and no lumps or pockets of unmixed flour.
I refrigerate the mix for an hour or two, no more than overnight.
Roll the mix into small balls (bigger than a marble, smaller than a golf ball... ping-pong ball size?), dip into sugar, and place about two inches apart on a lightly greased cookie sheet.
Bake at 325° for ten minutes. Pull out while still soft... if you over bake them then you will turn the nice, soft molasses cookies into ginger SNAPS!
I would suggest taste-testing a random sample of about 12 as you pull them out.