Soft and Chewy Molasses Spice Cookies

Name: Soft and Chewy Molasses Spice Cookies
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 11 min
Total time: 41 min
Yield: 22 cookies, 22 serving(s)
Ingredients: 1/3 cup granulated sugar (about 2 1/2 ounces plus 1/2 cup for dipping); 2 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (11 1/4 ounces); 1 teaspoon baking soda; 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon; 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger; 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves; 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice; 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper; 1/4 teaspoon table salt; 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened but still cool (1 1/2 sticks); 1/3 cup dark brown sugar (about 2 1/2 ounces packed); 1 large egg yolk; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; 1/2 cup molasses (about 6 ounces light or dark)

Submitted by oilpatchjo

"Another great Cook's Illustrated cookie that is truly soft and chewy. 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 under baked when removed from the oven. If you plan to glaze the cookies save the parchment paper used to bake them."

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Ready In:: 41mins
Ingredients:: 14
Yields:: 22 cookies
Serves:: 22

ingredients

¹⁄₃ cup granulated sugar (about 2 1/2 ounces plus 1/2 cup for dipping)
2 ¹⁄₄ cups unbleached all-purpose flour (11 1/4 ounces)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 ¹⁄₂ teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 ¹⁄₂ teaspoons ground ginger
¹⁄₂ teaspoon ground cloves
¹⁄₄ teaspoon ground allspice
¹⁄₄ teaspoon ground black pepper
¹⁄₄ teaspoon table salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened but still cool (1 1/2 sticks)
¹⁄₃ cup dark brown sugar (about 2 1/2 ounces packed)
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¹⁄₂ cup molasses (about 6 ounces light or dark)

directions

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.
Whisk flour, baking soda, spices, and salt in medium bowl until thoroughly combined; set aside.
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.
Using tablespoon measure, scoop heaping tablespoon of dough and roll between palms into 1 1/2-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 over bake.
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.

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RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

oilpatchjo

Canada

<p><img src=http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/permanent%20collection/IWasAdoptedfall08.jpg border=0 alt=Photobucket /> <br /><img src=http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j166/ZaarNicksMom/PACsticker-Adopted.jpg alt= /> <br />recipe#129579 by txzuckerbaeckerin started it all! I was so touched by the responses to my inquiries on Recipezaar. If it wasn't for the fact I lost my favourite cheesecake recipe and was determined to find one similar or the same I would not have found Reipezaar so I just have to tell my story. I had lost this recipe in moving and I bought several baking books and searched the web for months in my desperate search. Extremely late one night I found Recipezaar and posted my lost recipe as best as I could remember. The next day in the forum there it was posted the  one and only lost cheesecake recipe. I knew it was the one from some of the ingredients. Several chefs gave me other recipes including New York Cheesecake by Tyler Florence which is wonderful as well which includes the Cherry Confit topping in the recipe which we adore. On September 19, 2006 this story had a happy ending with me finding my old cheesecake recipe. I thought I will never lose it again by posting it on Recipezaar.recipe #186938.That is why I'm hooked on this wonderful web site called Food! </p>

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