Aunt Helens Soft Molasses Cookies Food

SOFT MOLASSES COOKIES

Steps:

• Cream together shortening and brown sugar.
• Stir in egg and molasses and mix well.
• Fold in dry ingredients and stir.
• Cover and chill till firm (1-2 hours).
• Preheat oven to 350°.
• Roll dough into small balls and roll in white sugar.
• Place on lightly greased cookie sheet.
• Bake at 350° for 9-10 minutes.
• Leave on sheet one minute until set.
• I changed the amount of salt in here. My original recipe calls for 1 tsp of salt but that may be too much for some. A few people have made it as is (the majority) with no complaints on salt, however a few commented it was too much. I think 1/2 tsp can be used with no alterations to the recipe. I will leave it up to you either way you still WIN !

CHEWY GINGER MOLASSES COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Whisk the flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, cloves and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
• Beat the butter and sugar together in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until well combined, about 3 minutes. Add the molasses and egg and beat until lighter in color, about 3 minutes. Add the flour mixture and mix on low until well blended.
• Using a tablespoon, form the dough into 1-inch balls and roll in sugar. Place each ball 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Bake until golden and crackled, 12 to 15 minutes; the cookies will still be a little soft. Baking these in 3 batches one sheet at a time gets you the nice, crackly top. The second sheet of cookies can stay on the counter until ready to bake. Form the remaining dough, roll the balls in sugar and place on the now cooled first baking sheet. Allow the cookies to cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet, and then remove to a rack to cool completely.

AUNT CLARA'S SOFT MOLASSES COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
• Blend in the molasses and egg, beating well.
• In another bowl, combine the flour, ginger, cinnamon, allspice and cloves.
• Dissolve baking soda in the water.
• Next, add the flour and baking soda mixtures alternately to butter mixture.
• Blending well after each addition.
• Drop by rounded tablespoons onto lightly greased and floured cookie sheets.
• Bake at 350ºF about 12 to 15 minutes until done.
• Remove from cookie sheets and cool on wire racks.

AUNT HELEN'S SOFT MOLASSES COOKIES

Steps:

• 1. Cream the sugar and butter together. Add the molasses and drop the eggs in one at a time beating well after each one.
• 2. Add the vinegar and beat until foamy and light.
• 3. Add in sifted dry ingredients. Mixture should be stiff enough to handle. Roll 1/4 inch thick on a well floured board and cut into large cookies (I use a cookie dropper I found at Pampered Chef) You can also use cookie cutters.
• 4. If you like, you can sprinkle them with sugar (or can just leave them as is) and bake on a greased cookie sheet 12 _15 minutes in a preheated oven (375 degrees)

HOLIDAY MOLASSES COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375.
• Grease baking sheets.
• Sift together flour, soda, salt, ginger and cinnamon.
• Cream together shortening and sugar until fluffy.
• Add molasses and egg and beat well.
• Add flour mixture to creamed mixture alternately with water and vinegar combined, mixing thoroughly.
• Drop by tablespoons 2 inches apart on baking sheets.
• Sprinkle with sugar if desired.
• Bake in moderate (350) oven 12 to 15 minutes.

AUNT CLARA'S FILLED MOLASSES COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Toss raisins and 1 teaspoon flour together in a saucepan until raisins are coated in flour. Stir 1/4 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, and lemon juice into raisins. Pour 1 cup boiling water over raisin mixture; bring mixture to a boil. Cook, stirring constantly, until raisins start to break down and mixture thickens, 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.
• Stir 2 3/4 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, and salt together in a bowl.
• Whisk melted shortening and molasses together in another bowl; stir in remaining vanilla extract. Dissolve baking soda in 1/3 cup boiling water. Stir soda water into molasses mixture until mixture foams and is well-combined. Stir flour mixture and molasses mixture together in a large bowl until a stiff dough forms.
• Divide dough into 2 balls; 1 dough ball for the bottom cookie rounds and 1 ball for the top cookie rounds. Cover 1 dough ball with a damp paper towel; roll remaining dough ball out to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut dough into rounds using the top of a glass or a round cookie cutter. Place these bottom rounds 2-inches apart on a baking sheet. Top each dough round with 1 tablespoon of raisin filling mixture.
• Roll out remaining dough ball to 1/8-inch thickness and cut into rounds using the same cutter. Moisten fingers slightly with water and carefully work each top round from the center outwards until each is about 1/4-inch larger around than the bottom round. Working from one edge, place top round over bottom round and filling, pressing firmly to seal the cookie. Lightly press down tops of cookies to settle filling in the pocket.
• Bake in the preheated oven until cookie is set, 10 to 12 minutes. Cool briefly on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

SOFT MOLASSES COOKIES

Steps:

• Mix the milk and vinegar and set aside for a minute.
• In a large bowl mix well the sugar, both molasses and shortening (if you don't have the Black Strap you can use the regular but the taste is much better with the black strap).
• Add the milk and vinegar mixture.
• Add the dry ingredients mixing well.
• Refrigerate for 1 hour.
• Roll out on a floured board and cut in circle the size you want (I usually do one about 3 inches).
• Sprinkle the tops with some sugar.
• Bake in a 375 degree oven for about 7-8 minute.
• Don't overbake them, just till done.

SOFT BAKED MOLASSES COOKIES

Steps:

• Pre-heat oven to 375°F.
• Mix sugars, sour cream, molasses, egg, margarine, and shortening in a large bowl until smooth.
• Stir in remaining ingredients. Do not over mix!
• Drop by rounded tablespoonful onto an ungreased cookis sheet. Place about 2 inches apart.
• Bake time is roughly 10-12 minutes or until the cookies have browned. May be hard to gage by color so bake until almost no indentation remains in center of cookie when touched.
• Cool on wire rack.
• Serve by themselves or dipped in whipped cream!

CLASSIC AUNT SALLY (OR SALLY ANN) COOKIES

Steps:

• Cream shortening and sugar, add molasses and eggs and buttermilk.
• Mix dry ingredients thoroughly, then add to creamed mixture.
• Refrigerate for an hour or so, until slightly firm.
• Roll out at about 1/4" (thicker for more cakelike cookies, thinner for crispier ones - they're good both ways).
• Cut out (traditionally with a SPAM can, but to each her own).
• Bake at 325 for about 12-15 minutes.
• When cookies are cool, whip up the icing.
• In saucepan, dissolve gelatin in cold water.
• Bring to a boil and simmer for about 10 minutes.
• While simmering, add 3 C powdered sugar to a large straight-sided bowl and measure in soda. Stir.
• Pour hot liquid into sugar mixture and whisk. Add vanilla. Lumps are not good.
• If 3 C of powdered sugar is enough to produce a almost-set pudding-like icing, it is read. If it seems thin, add another cup and whisk inches.
• Take cooled cookies and dip the tops into the icing, wiping off excess on side of bowl.
• Set on wax paper until icing is hard.

AUNT RUTH'S MOLASSES COOKIES

Steps:

• Cream the sugar and shortening together.
• Add two beaten eggs. Blend well.
• Add the ginger, cinnamon and salt. Blend.
• Add the molasses. Blend well.
• Dissolve the 2 teaspoons of baking soda in 1/2 cup of hot water.
• When it is just warm add it to the other preparation. Smooth it all.
• Add the flour incrementally until the mixture is right for making drop cookies.
• Drop from a teaspoon onto a greased cookie sheet. One teaspoon of cookie mix makes a 3" cookie.
• Bake 8 - 9 minutes at 350°F.
• Leave cookies on the pan a little bit before removing.
• Rest the dough in the refrigerator between batches.

GLUTEN-FREE SOFT MOLASSES COOKIES

Steps:

• Cream butter with brown sugar until smooth.
• Stir in egg and salt.
• Add molasses and buttermilk, stir.
• Sift together flours, baking soda, and spices. I strongly recommend sifting because chestnut flour can be a little lumpy. Note: the ratios of the four flours I used can be adjusted to your taste. Brown rice and sorghum flours are whole-grainy and do make the cookies a little less soft, while chestnut flour has a strong taste of its own. Play with the ratios to change the texture.
• Add about 3 cups of the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix in (you can use an electric mixer) until smooth.
• Add the remaining flour, the dough should be stiff enough that you'll probably have to stir this in by hand.
• Cover and refrigerate overnight.
• Roll dough out on a floured board to about 1/4" thickness.
• Cut circles or shapes. This dough makes good gingerbread men.
• Bake 15 minutes at 375.
• Cool. Frost with a soft cream cheese frosting if desired.