Since we will be drinking loads of hot chocolate this holiday season we should probably find something to balance that out. The first thing that comes to mind is a large bucket of marshmallows topped with whipped cream, sprinkles and chocolate syrup. As you down that glorious and oh so practical cup of hot chocolate, grab a molasses cookie! Follow this recipe for how to make molasses cookies and you will end up with cookies that have crispy edges and perfectly soft topped with sparkly sugar.
AKA get all of your ingredients together before even thinking about baking! Of course I am kidding. However, I do find it much easier and faster to breeze through a bake if you have all of your ingredients pre-measured so they can be added in one-by-one. In the past I have caught myself trying to measure and read the instructions all at the same time and then wait, was that two or three cups of flour I just added?
Once you get the dough all ready wrap it in parchment paper and place in the refrigerator for about an hour. If you don’t have parchment paper you can really use anything: wrapping paper, Kleenex, or your favorite dish towel. (Kidding! I can’t help myself. Of course use whatever contraption you have around the house and whack it in the fridge). This dough is pretty forgiving so if you have more Netflix binging you need to get back to you can let it chill for much longer.
Bake these off at 350° for about 8 minutes. This family recipe has quite succinct instructions on baking: “Bake.” But at what temperature? For how long? Being a cookie monster myself I settled in and went back to my roots. Most cookies bake at 350° and I figured I’d sacrifice my eyelashes and peek in the oven around 6 minutes. At the 8 minute mark they were looking just about perfect. This did the trick. I left them on the cookie tray for a few minutes or until they were just set and transferred them to a cooling rack. This usually results in me slowly burning off my fingertips because for some reason I refuse to use a spatula in this scenario. But who needs fingerprints anyway.
Also, don’t be afraid of molasses! It seems like such an old-timey ingredient that was only used back in the day when they were churning butter by hand and had to walk to school up hill both ways. History lesson aside, it’s actually very easy to use and brings a real sassy attitude to the party. It’s fun, I promise. You can find it at any grocery store. I found it at my local bulk food store and was well worth the small investment since it lasts forever!
Ingredients:
- 1 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup shortening (or unsalted butter)
- 4 tbsp molasses
- 1 egg (room temperature)
- 2 cups flour
- 1 tsp each: baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, ginger.
Method:
Chill the dough then roll into balls walnut size. Roll in sugar an bake on a parchment lined cookie sheet. You can try a couple to see how much they spread, but two inches apart is usually safe.
Bake:
350° for 8 minutes. I like my cookies to have crisp edges and soft in the middle, so just about 8 minutes plus chill time on the cookie tray is perfect. Of course if you like your molasses cookies more on the crispy crunchy side keep them baking for a bit longer. Just keep an eye on them and don’t burn off your eyelashes*. Try out these easy molasses cookies for some holiday fun.
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