Holidays equal platters and tins of festive-looking cookies. Cookies with colored icing, cookies with sprinkles, cookies with fillings, cookies with layers.
An artistic cookie display is a thing of beauty, that I'll not argue, but I'll reach past the whole lot if I see a flat, modest, quiet molasses cookie. This is my cookie. Not much to look at compared to its flashy holiday brethren, but pliant and spice-scented and, to my mind, kind of perfect.
Chewy Molasses Cookies
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup granulated sugar, divided use
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup molasses
1 egg
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, ginger, baking soda, cloves and salt.
In a large bowl, combine the butter, 1/4 cup of the granulated sugar, brown sugar and molasses. Beat in the egg. Beat in the dry ingredients; the dough should be fairly stiff. Refrigerate the dough for 2 hours.
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Scoop the dough up by heaping tablespoons and roll them into balls. Roll the balls in the remaining 1/2 cup granulated sugar and place them 2 inches apart on a baking sheet (about 12 cookies per baking sheet). Using the bottom of a glass, flatten the cookies to about 1/4-inch thick, 2 1/2 inches in diameter.
Bake 7 or 8 minutes, just until set. Remove the cookies from the baking sheet and cool on a wire rack. Repeat with the rest of the dough.
Makes 2 dozen cookies.
Food on 11/23/2016