America’s Test Kitchen

Whenever I have made molasses cookies using this America’s Test Kitchen recipe, they have always received rave reviews. The crackled and crinkled cookies are chewy, spicy, and moist. The warm, flavorful treat can break down the most diet-conscious adult’s resolve to resist. Leaving them with a warm, cozy, comfortable feeling and wanting more. 

This was the case when I took several dozen to an Indivisible Riverside meeting. It was pre-covid, during Trump’s first regime. The meeting was well attended and held in a union hall located off of Spruce Street and a lot of friendly faces were in attendance. Sue Mitchell, who is often referred to as “a wonderful woman who keeps our city on track” was looking at the snack table when I suggested she try the molasses cookie. At that time I only knew her by name and since that time have had the pleasure to consider her a friend. 

Sue hesitated, before taking the cookie, and shared that she had been trying to lose a few pounds but would take just one. I honestly believe she took it because she didn’t want to hurt my feelings. Within minutes she was back and as she took a second one she held it up and said, “these are really, really good.” That is the thing I love about Sue. Her ability to look you directly in the eye, impart a simple compliment, and make you feel like you are being seen.  

Ingredients

• ⅓ C Granulated sugar, plus ½ C for dipping
• 2¼ C Unbleached all-purpose flour 
• 1 t Baking soda
• 1½ t Ground cinnamon
• 1½ t Ground ginger
• ½ t Ground cloves
• ¼ t Ground allspice
• ¼ t Ground black pepper
• ¼ t Table salt
• 12 T Unsalted butter (1½ sticks), softened but still cool
• ⅓ C Packed dark brown sugar 
• 1 Large egg yolk
• 1 t Vanilla extract
• ½ C Molasses, light or dark

Directions

• Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. 
• Place ½ C sugar for dipping in an 8-or 9-inch cake pan.
• Whisk flour, baking soda, spices, and salt in a medium bowl until thoroughly combined; set aside.
• In a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat butter with brown and granulated sugars at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about three minutes. 
• Reduce speed to medium-low and add yolk and vanilla; increase speed to medium and beat until incorporated, about 20 seconds. 
• Reduce speed to medium-low and add molasses; beat until fully incorporated, about 20 seconds, scraping bottom and sides of bowl once with rubber spatula. 
• Reduce speed to lowest setting; add flour mixture and beat until just incorporated, about 30 seconds, scraping bowl down once. 
• Give dough a final stir with a rubber spatula to ensure that no pockets of flour remain at the bottom. The dough will be soft.
• Scoop a heaping tablespoon of dough and roll between palms into a 1½-inch ball; drop the ball into the cake pan with sugar and repeat to form about four balls. 
• Toss balls in sugar to coat and set on prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 2inches apart. 
• Repeat with the remaining dough. 
• Bake one sheet at a time until cookies are browned, still puffy, and edges have begun to set but centers are still soft (cookies will look raw between cracks and seem underdone), about 11 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through baking. Do not over-bake.
• Cool cookies on baking sheet for five minutes, then use a wide metal spatula to transfer cookies to a wire rack; cool cookies to room temperature and serve.