Molasses Spice Cookies
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Molasses spice cookies are sort of like ginger snaps except bigger and chewy. The recipe for these cookies comes from Cook's Illustrated's The Best Recipe cookbook. Here's a hint on preparation - don't reduce the amount of sugar, the cookies won't be chewy if you do (I found this out the hard way and had to make a second batch).
Molasses Spice Cookies Recipe
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Preparation time: 30 minutes. Makes 18 large cookies.
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons of baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar, plus 1/3 cup for rolling cookies
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup unsulphered molasses
Method
1 Preheat oven to 375°F. Mix together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, allspice together in a bowl and set aside.
2 Use an electric mixer and beat the butter for 2 minutes. Add the brown sugar, and 1/2 cup granulated sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes with mixer set at medium speed. Add egg, vanilla extract, and molasses. Beat until combined, about 30 seconds. Scrape down sides of bowl with a rubber spatula.
3 Add dry ingredients and beat at low speed until just combined, about 30 seconds.
4 Place remaining 1/3 cup of granulated sugar in a shallow bowl. Working with 2 Tbsp of dough each time, roll dough into 1 3/4 inch balls. Roll balls in sugar and place on ungreased cookie sheets, spacing them 1 1/2 to 2 inches apart.
5 Bake until the outer edges of the cookies begin to set and centers are soft and puffy, about 11 to 13 minutes. Cool cookies on sheets for 2 to 3 minutes before transferring them to cooling racks .
Note: do not overcook. The centers of the cookies should be somewhat soft and spongy when you take them out of the oven, otherwise they will end up hard and dry.
Optional Glaze
When cookies have cooled, lay out over a sheet of wax paper. Sift 1 1/4 cups of confectioner's sugar (powdered sugar) and then whisk with 2 Tbsp of milk until smooth. Dip spoon into glaze and dribble over cookies.
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I'm not sure what I did wrong. My cookies are very, very flat. Chewy. Tasty. But really flat.
Sounds like you may have forgotten the baking soda, or substituted too old baking powder. If the cookie is flat, it's likely because the leavening is absent or not working. ~Elise