Soft And Chewy Molasses Spice Cookies (ATK)

• portions: 22 cookies

Ingrédients

1/3 cup (about 2 1/2 ounces) granulated sugar, plus ½ cup for dipping

2 1/4 cups (11¼ ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon

1½ teaspoons ground ginger

½ teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1/4 teaspoon finely ground black pepper

¼ teaspoon salt

12 tablespoons (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened but still cool

1/3 cup (about 2½ ounces) packed dark brown sugar

1 large egg yolk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ cup (about 6 ounces) light or dark molasses (see picture )

Instructions

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Place 1/2 cup sugar for dipping in 8- or 9-inch cake pan.

2. Whisk flour, baking soda, spices, and salt in medium bowl until thoroughly combined; set aside.

3. In standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat butter with brown and granulated sugars at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 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 final stir with rubber spatula to ensure that no pockets of flour remain at bottom. Dough will be soft.

4. Using tablespoon measure, scoop heaping tablespoon of dough and roll between palms into 1½-inch ball; drop ball into cake pan with sugar and repeat to form about 4 balls. Toss balls in sugar to coat and set on prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart. Repeat with remaining dough. Bake 1 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 baking sheet halfway through baking. Do not overbake.

5. Cool cookies on baking sheet 5 minutes, then use wide metal spatula to transfer cookies to wire rack; cool cookies to room temperature and serve. (Can be stored at room temperature in airtight container or zipper-lock plastic bag up to 5 days.)

Notes

Measure the molasses in a liquid measuring cup. If you find that the dough sticks to your palms as you shape the balls, moisten your hands occasionally in a bowl filled with cold water and shake off the excess. Bake the cookies one sheet at a time. If baked two sheets at a time, the cookies started on the bottom rack won't develop the attractive cracks. The cookies should look slightly raw and underbaked when removed from the oven. If you plan to glaze the cookies (see recipe below), save the parchment paper used to bake them.

MOLASSES SPICE COOKIES WITH DARK RUM GLAZE

For the glaze, start by adding the smaller amount of rum; if the glaze is too thick to drizzle, whisk in up to an additional ½ tablespoon rum.

Follow recipe for Soft and Chewy Molasses Spice Cookies. When completely cool, return cookies to cooled parchment-lined baking sheets. Whisk 1 cup confectioners sugar (about 4 1/2 ounces) and 2½ to 3 tablespoons dark rum in medium bowl until smooth. Dip spoon into glaze and then move spoon over cookies so that glaze drizzles down onto them; repeat as necessary. Transfer cookies to wire rack and allow glaze to dry, 10 to 15 minutes.

MOLASSES SPICE COOKIES WITH ORANGE ESSENCE

The orange zest in the sugar coating causes the sugar to become sticky and take on a light orange hue; the baked cookies have a unique frosty look.

In workbowl of food processor, process 2/3 cup granulated sugar and 2 teaspoons grated orange zest until pale orange, about 10 seconds; transfer sugar to 8- or 9-inch cake pan and set aside. Follow recipe for Soft and Chewy Molasses Spice cookies, adding 1 teaspoon grated orange zest to butter and sugars along with molasses in step 3 and substituting orange sugar for granulated sugar when coating dough balls in step 4.

Cook’s illustrated 2002