Week 6: Iced Molasses Cookies

So... I know that typically one would make yummy desserts containing cinnamon, cloves, and ginger sometime in the fall or winter months. I am aware that today is July 7. I just really, really REALLY love molasses cookies. I thought about making some kind of cupcake for this week's project, but was concerned about dealing with a mess of sticky melty frosting, being that the temperature hit 90 degrees today.

Plus I love molasses cookies. Did I already mention that? Well, it's true.

Iced Molasses Cookies

Recipe from www.cookiemadness.net

Makes 40-50 cookies

2 c. all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. ground ginger

1/2 tsp. ground cloves

3/4 c. plus 2 Tbsp. granulated sugar

1/2 c. vegetable shortening

1/4 c. (4 Tbsp.) softened butter

1/4 molasses (light or dark)

1 large egg

Mix together the flour, baking soda, salt and spices. Cream the sugar with the butter and shortening. Beat in the molasses, then add egg and beat well until thoroughly mixed. Gradually add the flour mixture to the molasses mixture and stir to make a dough.

Chill dough for 90 minutes, or until ready to bake.

Shape dough into little balls (the recipe I was reading says it will make 50, but I only got 40, so I must roll bigger dough balls than most people). Arrange 2 1/2 inches apart on parchment-lined cookie sheets, press down slightly (I used my fingers).

Bake in the center of a preheated 350 degree oven for 10-14 minutes (took exactly 10 minutes in my oven). Let cool for 2 minutes on cookie sheets, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Icing:

2 c. powdered sugar

1 Tbsp. melted butter

2 1/2 Tbsp. milk or light cream, plus more as needed (I used soy milk)

1 tsp. vanilla

Mix the sugar and butter together the best you can. Slowly stir in the milk and beat until smooth. Add vanilla, then add more milk little by little until you get a nice drizzling consistency. Using a teaspoon, drizzle over cooled cookies. The icing hardens pretty quickly, so you'll be able to stack them for storage.

The plan is to bring these lovely "better than store bought" cookies to work tomorrow, but I had to sample one to make sure they were good enough to share. They're chewy, molasses-y, and delicious. They'd be great without the icing, but it really adds a nice sweet note to balance out the "spice" from the cloves and ginger.

So good. You have to try them.

Week 4: Dipped Lemon Spritz

Hmmm... being that it's 11:00 on a Saturday night and I'm finally posting this week's recipe, you're probably thinking that I'm starting to wimp out on the one year commitment. Not a chance. Once again, the baking was done on Wednesday, but I couldn't motivate myself to post it until now. Here ya go!

Dipped Lemon Spritz

Recipe from Taste of Home

Makes 6 dozen cookies

2/3 c. plus 2 Tbsp. sugar

2 tsp. grated lemon peel

1 c. unsalted butter, softened

1 egg

2 tsp. lemon juice

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp. baking powder

dash salt

1 pkg. (12 oz.) dark chocolate chips

(Sorry, I forgot to take a picture of the ingredients this time.)

In a small food processor (doesn't really matter if it's small or not-- I used a big one), combine sugar and lemon peel; cover and process until blended.

In a large bowl, cream butter and 2/3 c. lemon-sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, lemon juice and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well.

Using a cookie press fitted with a 1 1/2 inch bar disk, form dough into long strips on ungreased baking sheets. (I always use parchment paper or a silpat on the baking sheets, but neither is necessary for these cookies.) Cut each strip into squares-- there is no need to separate the pieces.

Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until set (don't brown the cookies). Remove to wire racks to cool completely.

The part where it says to cool completely? Yeah... make sure they're completely cooled before proceeding to the next step. This is important. Learn from my mistakes. I didn't wait until they were cooled, and I lost a few in the bowl of chocolate. They are super delicate while they are warm. Just a word to the wise.

In a microwave, melt chocolate; stir until smooth. Dip cookies diagonally in chocolate, allowing excess to drip off. Place on waxed paper (or back on the wire cooling rack); sprinkle chocolate with remaining lemon sugar. Let stand until set. Store in an airtight container at room temperature, or freeze for up to 3 months.

Now it's time for honesty: I don't really care for these cookies. I've been told by my always willing taste testers (a.k.a. my family) that they're really good, and my niece wants me to share the recipe with her mom (my sister). In my humble opinion, there isn't enough citrus flavor to these cookies. If I were to make them again (and let's face it, that's not likely), I'd probably add more lemon zest to the sugar and a little more lemon juice to the dough. I like in-your-face lemon flavor, not just a subtle "do I detect a hint of lemon?" flavor. I'm just sayin'. Now I'm thinking about changing things up and going with an orange variation. I love a good orange and chocolate combo.

What are your favorite flavor combinations?