Molasses Cookies 
From Framed Cooks

Holy smokes, these are some delicious cookies.  I’ve been following the Framed Cooks food blog for about a year now, and have been meaning to make these cookies for nearly as long.  But as I mentioned earlier this month, I try to not make cookies very often, in order to avoid eating cookies too often.  However, I have a few girlfriends coming over for dinner tomorrow night, and having a batch of cookies on hand seemed appropriate.  I’m not sure if molasses cookies really count as Christmas cookies, but I don’t see any reason why they couldn’t be.  Obviously gingerbread really steals the show in the spiced holiday cookie category, but my mom and I tried a different recipe every year when I was a kid and they never came out quite right.  These, on the other hand, I’m pretty sure are fool proof.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup butter, melted
• 1 cup sugar, plus more for rolling cookies
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 1 egg
• 2 cups flour
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp salt

Preparation

1. Place butter, 1 cup sugar, molasses, and egg in a large bowl, stirring until combined.
2. Place flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, ginger and salt in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk to sift together.
3. Add flour mixture to butter mixture, stirring until combined.
4. Refrigerate batter until it is hardened.
5. Scoop dough and roll into 1-inch balls (a sturdy ice cream scoop works well).
6. Roll each ball in additional sugar and place on a cookie sheet or a baking sheet lined with parchment.  (I like using parchment because these cookies come out of the oven pretty soft and it allows you transfer them all to a wire cooling rack in one fell swoop).  Space cookies well apart, with about 12 to a sheet.
7. Use your thumb to lightly press down the center of each ball.
8. Bake for 9-10 minutes.  Transfer to a cookie rack immediately to cool.

Makes 3 dozen.