fall means baking: molasses cookies

One of my favorite things about fall and winter is the baking. I just love to bake up lots of cookies and pies and breads. And there's one type of cookie in particular that personifies fall/winter baking for me: Molasses Cookies.

You know, rolled in sugar, nice and crackly, crispy on the outside and just soft enough on the inside. Mmmmmm! So good. I make batches and batches of these every single year from October to December, and they never get old.

Next time you feel like baking something, I highly suggest you pull up this recipe and get to work. Put on some good music, tie those aprons straps around your waist, and get to work.

Soft Molasses Cookies

[original source]

1 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup shortening (soo bad. we use lard, much 'healthier' for you)
1/4 cup molasses
1 egg
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (I used 1 cup of whole wheat flour and 1 1/4 cup of regular)
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp salt

3 TBS granulated sugar (for rolling dough in)

1 | preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Mix brown sugar, shortening/lard, molasses, and egg together until combined.
2 | Add in all the other ingredients (except sugar) and stir until just combined.
3 | Shape dough into round, 1 1/2" balls. Dip into sugar and roll around till covered. Place on ungreased cookie sheet about 2" apart.
4 | Bake 12-14 minutes or until just set and cookies appear dry. Immediately move to cooling rack.
5 | Try not to eat them all :)

These cookies are perfect for little ones to help with. Riggs loved rolling them in sugar and putting them on the baking sheet for me. He also loved trying to sneak some raw dough and eating as much of the sugar as he could ;)

These come out of the oven looking soooo perfect. I was strong and resisted the urge to stuff as many in my mouth as possible while they were still warm, but just barely. If you do decide to sneak one fresh off the cookie sheet, you will not be disappointed. And not only will the cookies taste amazing, but your house will smell amazing as they bake. Perfect!

Afterwards, if you or your helper are covered in sugar like Riggy was, feel free to take a quick bath. Sink baths are always a favorite around here!