Old Fashioned Molasses Cookies 5/325

Zean and The Quilt

The Relation

We're continuing the Gerty Gassmann Gold trend strong here. Margie Montzingo (Gertrude>Katharine) is my dad's first cousin and therefore, my first cousin once removed. Her mother is Katharine Gassmann Schaub (better known as Aunt Kay). Now, Aunt Kay is the creator of the oh-so-famous wedding quilt given to my parents for their wedding. It has most, if not all, of the cousin club members' names on it with colored bars to indicate what branch they are from.

The Process

I, Maddy, confess that I had no idea what these cookies were going to look or taste like. The last time I used molasses was in Home Ec class in high school. I remember distinctly that if oil was also an ingredient that needed to be added, you should measure the oil first, as it would help the very sticky molasses slide out of the measuring cup. FYI, this recipe doesn't call for oil. Thanks for nothing, Home Ec.

Peanut Butter or Cookie Batter?

Also, molasses smells odd. Roommate Lora actually asked if I was cooking something with tomatoes in it as I was whipping up these cookies (I told her I was making cookies, to which she asked "with tomatoes in them?"). The molasses gives the batter a rich peanut butter-y color, further confusing me on what these cookies were going to end up looking like.

I chose to use butter instead of shortening and buttermilk instead of yogurt. I did leave the electric mixer going as I prepped all the baking pans. I am no expert baker, but I think this may have affected the texture of the cookies. They ended up wildly puffy and chewy - which in my personal opinion, is not a bad thing.

Harder than it looks

Like any rational human being, I did not add the optional raisins. People who put raisins in cookies should be tarred and feathered. The batter is pretty liquidy (definitely a batter as opposed to a dough) so spooning it onto the baking sheets was pretty tough. I (tried to) use exact teaspoon measurements for each cookie, but it's very hard. So hard that I actually ordered one of those fancy cookie scoops from Amazon while in the midst of this mess.

I baked all of my trays (all four) for exactly 8 minutes. The cookies seemed to be perfect when I took them out. Again, I have no idea what they should look like, but they looked A-okay to me. Better yet, they tasted like gingerbread! This shouldn't be that shocking of a discovery since the recipe does call for ginger, however, I was really worried about how these were going to taste with the odor they were giving off. Makes approximately 50 cookies.

Look at all those air bubbles!

The Feedback

Roommate Lora was a big fan of these cookies. She ate at least an entire trayful as I was still making them. Granted, she hadn't really eaten anything all day, but as someone who doesn't particularly love sweets, I am taking her word as gold. The office gang was similarly pleased, although Office Jordan asked if there was some sort of apple flavor in them (there is not). I will say, they are definitely a cookie with fall and winter type flavors. Perfectly paired with hot cocoa and a toasty fire.

The Recipe

OLD FASHIONED MOLASSES COOKIES - CC80
Margie Montzingo

Preheat oven to 350°.

Beat ½ cup butter or shortening until soft. Gradually add ½ cup sugar and blend until light and creamy. Beat in 1 egg and ½ cup molasses. Have ½ cup yogurt or buttermilk ready. Sift 2½ cups flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon each cinnamon and ginger, ¼ teaspoon cloves and ¼ teaspoon salt together. Add the sifted ingredients in 3 parts to the sugar mixture alternately with the yogurt or buttermilk. Beat the batter until smooth after each addition. Add ½ cup raisins – optional. Drop the batter from a teaspoon onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake 8– 12 minutes.