Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Afternoon Tea Cookies


I am a sucker for cookie recipes with molasses and ginger.  I love the sugary spice of a crunchy gingersnap cookie.  I found this recipe for "molasses cookies with a kick" in a Taste of Home magazine.  The combination of peppers, coriander, cinnamon, fresh ginger and cloves peaked my interest so I decided to bake up a batch of these cookies and to take on our weekend getaway.

Molasses Cookies with a Kick
3/4 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup molasses
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh gingerroot, minced
2 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon red pepper (I used even less)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/8 teaspoon coriander
3/4 cup turbinado sugar

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars.  Beat in molasses, egg and ginger.  Combine flour, baking soda, cloves, cayenne, salt, nutmeg, pepper and coriander.  Add to creamed mixture.  Cover and refrigerate 1 1/2 hours.  Scoop into small balls and roll in turbinado sugar.  Place 3" apart on a silpat lined baking sheet.  Bake 8-10 minutes at 350.

I am on a constant quest to bake great cookies and I like to "tweak" recipes to make them even better.  These cookies were soft and chewy but they didn't bake up nice and crispy like I had anticipated.   What these cookies lacked in texture, they made up for in peppery spiciness and sweet sugary goodness.  I am going back to the kitchen to rework this recipe into a crunchy, spicy molasses cookie that will please the most critical cookie eater that I know - ME.

Despite my criticism and my harsh analysis of these molasses cookies, by the end of the weekend they had all been eaten.  In the end, that's really the best indicator of a good cookie. 

Bon Appetit!

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