Soft Molasses Cookies

ooey-gooey goodness

This cookie recipe has been in the family for a very long time. All of us grew up eating these cookies, usuallly with freshly made butter slathered over the top for good measure. Five generations have had the ultimate pleasure of these cookies. They were always ready for us, sitting on their own special spot of the pantry shelves. I couldn't find my great aunt's cookie cutter that she used, which was heart breaking, but one day I found a replica in the store and promptly bought it! Now the cookies taste like they should! But that's just me (and Mom).
There's a lot to this recipe and you have to put the batter together the way it's written, or they won't taste the way they should. So, to start off, here's the list of ingredients:

1 cup molasses (I use Grandma's Robust)
1/2 cup lard (or Crisco)
1/4 cup butter, melted (not margarine)
1/2 cup boiling water
     Mix together and add to:
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
2 cups flour
     Blend all ingredients together well, and add 2 more cups of flour, mixing thoroughly.
     Cover and let stand in the fridge for one hour.
     Roll out 1/4" thick, use cookie cutters for shapes.
     Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.

This picture shows the 4th cup of flour added:

Here the batch is almost all mixed:

Here, the batch is ready for the fridge:

The dough, at this point, as like working with clay. The last cup of flour is hard to mix in, so make sure you've got it mixed thoroughly. When making cookies, roll out the dough on a floured surface. If you don't, you won't like the consequences! Ugh. What a mess!
Besides being the best cookies on the planet, you can use them for holidays and decorate them with frosting and sprinkles. Cut the dough into squares, then put two together with a creamy spread in the center. There seems to be no ending to what you can do to them- well, besides eat them!

Here is the recipe, written by my great grandmother, that I use. Looks like a mouse decided the paper was pretty good, too!

Now it's time for a cup of coffee and some cookies (I've already had two, nice and warm from the oven).
You are going to love these. I promise!

One more time:

Toodles.

Cowland Studio