Snappy Molasses Ginger Cookies “Hit the Spot” Any Time of the Year

If you simply want a great cookie, then try my recipe for “Snappy Molasses Ginger Cookies.” There is something about aromatic spices and a rich molasses flavor that just hits the spot. These cookies are crunchy the outside; with a perhaps little softness on the inside if you eat them right out of the oven. I had good intentions of baking lots of cookies over the holidays. However, that idea was lost in all the bustle of other activities. Now that things have settled down, I decided to make these cookies to go along with my “Jazzed Up Hot Cocoa.” And it occurred to me that these cookies are good to make and serve all year along. This is now one of my favorite cookie recipes.

Farewell to a Vintage Electric Mixer

Ah, yes. My electric mixer. And, with this recipe, I say farewell to my “vintage” Sunbeam Electric Mixer which I’ve had for years and years. It was old when I purchased it from a family who was moving away. The family was dispensing with all their worldly possessions and joining a religious commune in the Canadian Rockies. So bizarre. I always wondered what happened to that family. The mixer has steadily chugged along all these years. Anyway, today the mixer overheated while making these cookies and just isn’t safe any longer. My electric mixer wasn’t fancy, but it was very sturdy and did the trick. Although I could not knead bread dough with this mixer, I sure make lots of cakes, cookies, meringues and juiced lots of oranges.

The little stuffed reindeer mistakenly got mixed up and returned home with us during the Christmas holidays after a day trip to visit a family in New Orleans. That family had hosted a Christmas cookie contest. So, I’m mailing the little fellow back along with some of my “late entry” cookies.

Any cook who is interested in home baking and cooking should own an electric mixer. A heavy duty electric mixer is an essential kitchen appliance. It doesn’t need to have alot of whistles and bells. Just one which can beat and mix. I made this recipe several times mixing the batter “by hand” and I can assure you that it is much easier using an electric mixer. So, I’ll be looking for a replacement.

Recipe

My recipe is a basic sugar cookie recipe which includes molasses and aromatic spices. Although the recipe includes cinnamon, ginger and cloves, the predominant flavors are molasses and the ginger. Hence, that’s the reason for the title, “Snappy Molasses Ginger Cookies.”

Because of the molasses and butter in the recipe, these cookies spread out and become very crisp; hence, “snappy.”

Here are the ingredients for the “basic” sugar cookies. It includes flour sugar, butter, an egg, baking soda and salt. Although the recipe photo includes Crisco shortening — I omitted this in my final ingredient list as it didn’t have any advantage over butter. And, I made several batches of these cookies to get the ingredients quantities where I liked them. The baking soda included in the ingredient list adds a little “lift” to the cookies. However, the cookies will deflate once they bake and cool down.

Making the Recipe

I used my electric mixer to mix up the cookies. The process includes creaming the butter and sugar along with an egg to get a light and airy cookie batter. I mixed up several batches by stirring by hand when my mixer crashed. I definitely recommend using an electric mixer.

After creaming the butter, sugar and egg along with the molasses and vanilla extract; mix in the flour, spices, baking soda and salt. No other liquids are used in this recipe. Although you don’t have to sift the flour, I do recommend first blending the baking soda, spices and salt together with the flour to disperse all the ingredients. The dough is stiff– it is not easy to mix in these things evenly into the creamed ingredients.

Chill the dough for at least an hour. Roll the cookies into small balls with the palms of your hands, about 1″ in diameter. These are small cookies! I used a cookie scoop to measure out the dough. A teaspoon can be used, too. Then toss each ball in sugar. Bake just for 8 to 9 minutes on an ungreased cookie sheet; I lined a rimmed baking pan with parchment paper. Rolling the dough in sugar gives a sparkly top. However, the sugar also means the cookies will burn easily on the bottom. Don’t over bake.

These cookies are wonderful when they first come out of the oven. They are soft in the middle and crunchy on the outside and the molasses-ginger flavors shine. As the cookies cool down, they become crisp. But, still wonderful.

These cookies call for a cup of coffee or hot cocoa. They won’t last long!

Although the Christmas holiday is past; I always enjoy making cookies. You never need an excuse or reason to bake cookies; however, I wanted to make some cookies to mail back with the little reindeer stuffed animal to its home in New Orleans. In the process, I made three batches!

This recipe moves to the top of my extensive list of “best cookie” recipes. Enjoy!