Mother's Molasses Cookies

This is the time of year to start thinking about Christmas cookie baskets. 

It's one of my favorite things to do for the season and throughout the year I search for new and unique cookies and candies to include on the platter. 

Some are hits (Butterscotch Spoonnoodles) and some are misses (homemade thin mint cookies....what a mess!).  There are some standards, though, that are always included like my Mother's Molasses Cookies.  

When the house is filled with the aroma of cinnamon, ginger and cloves, I know the season has begun! 

These cookies are soft and chewy with the perfect combination of spices and that light crunch of the sugar surrounding the cookie.  

Mother's Molasses Cookies remind me of my late mother, who added a special something to her holiday cooking that we all loved. She enjoyed baking and we enjoyed the results.

Everyone has their favorite special version (sometimes called Ginger Snaps), but these are the best!

Chocolate Covered Cherry Cookies are a great addition to your holiday plates, too!

Enjoy!

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Molasses Sugar Cookies

Yield: 30 cookies

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 9 minutes

Inactive Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 49 minutes

*****My mother's outstanding recipe.  I bet I make 20 batches of these during the Christmas season!

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Ingredients

• ¾ C shortening
• 1 C sugar
• ¼ C molasses
• 1 egg
• 2 teaspoon soda
• 2 C flour
• ¼ teaspoon cloves
• ¼ teaspoon ginger
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon salt

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
2. Melt shortening in microwave and let cool.  Pour the melted, slightly cooled shortening into a stand mixer bowl or regular mixing bowl.
3. Add sugar, molasses and egg to the cooled melted shortening and mix till creamy. 
4. In a medium bowl, sift together soda, flour, cloves, ginger, cinnamon and salt; add to the first mixture.  Mix well. Dough will be thick. Chill in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes. 
5. Form into 1 inch balls and roll in granulated sugar.  Placed on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper (or lightly greased), 2 inches apart.  Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes.  Don't overbake!
6. Remove cookies immediately from the cookie sheet and let cool on a wire rack. Store leftover cookies in a tightly sealed container.

Notes

Tips and Stuff:

For my personal tastes, I have cut the cloves and ginger to ¼ tsp. each, but you may like it with the original full amount of ½ teaspoon each.

For a quick chill, I put the mixing bowl in the freezer for about 15 minutes instead of the refrigerator. This thickens the dough nicely - put the bowl back in the freezer between batches.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 30 Serving Size: 1 cookie
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 113Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 9mgSodium: 42mgCarbohydrates: 15gFiber: 0gSugar: 9gProtein: 1g