Mom?s Ginger Molasses Cookies for AB

A co-worker brought these amazing rounds of delight to our office the other day. Dear Reader, I advise you to bake these cookies immediately, leave work if need be, call in sick or hungry, borrow spices from your neighbor, and make this recipe for your family & friends.

Imagine if you will, a cookie in Juneau, Alaska not bearing the consistency of a hockey puck. AB’s cookies are round, dimpled, slightly squishy, fragrant with notes of citrus, ginger, clove, molasses, and cinnamon. AB’s mom sent this recipe and encouraged him to integrate orange zest into the cookies, a wise addition making this dessert worthy of documentation.

Ingredients:

- 2 cups of flour

- 1/2 cup of vegetable shortening

- 2 tsp. baking soda

- 1/4 cup unsalted butter (or salted butter works too)

- 2 tsp. ground ginger

- 1 cup of dark brown sugar

- 1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

- 1 egg

- 1 tsp. ground cloves

- 1/4 cup dark molasses

- 1 tsp. of salt

- 2 tsp. orange zest (or more)

- handful of granulated sugar for dusting

Instructions:

- Sift the dry ingredients and set aside.

- Combine shortening, butter, and sugar mixing until fluffy.

- Add egg, molasses, and orange zest. Beat until blended, add flour mixture, and mix.

- Refrigerate for one hour.

- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

- Butter baking sheet or use parchment paper or a silicone baking sheet.

- With wet hands roll dough into balls 1 1/4 inch round and roll balls into the granulated sugar.

- Place on cookie sheet 2 inches apart and bake for approximately 12 minutes

- Let cookies cool for 1 hour, if you can.

Yield: 2 1/2 dozen (easy recipe to double)

Serving suggestion:

Serve with a stove top espresso drink made with the best coffee you can buy, a cup of fine black tea, or a spicy gorgeous glass of red wine.

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