Eat Dessert First: Scott's Molasses Crinkles

It's not the holidays until your house smells like fresh baked cookies! As one of my few pregnancy cravings, last week I was absolutely dying for my dad, Scott's homemade Molasses Crinkles. I immediately called him begging for the recipe (because of course I needed them right then and there and couldn't wait for him to make them next week for Christmas). After a hectic week, I finally got around to making these today and boy were they worth the wait!

Ingredients:

3/4 cup shortening                                                          2 tsp baking soda

1 cup brown sugar (packed)                                           1/4 tsp salt

1 egg                                                                              1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/4 cup molasses                                                            1 tsp cinnamon

2 1/4 cup flour                                                                1 tsp ginger

a bit of granulated sugar

Mix the dry ingredients together in a small bowl (flour, baking soda, salt, cloves, cinnamon, ginger). Do not add the brown sugar to this! Oh and make sure you read the directions carefully because if you are anything like me you might misread the teaspoon as tablespoon and accidentally add way to much baking soda (oops!). Don't worry, I corrected my error!

Then in a different bowl (I used the one that is part of my KitchenAid mixer) combine brown sugar, shortening, molasses, and an egg until smooth. Then slowly add in your dry mix... they say to sift but I just gentled poured it in at a low speed.

Your dough should look something like this. Preheat your oven to 375°. Now, time to chill. My husband and I ate dinner while the dough was in the fridge chilling. It was plenty of time to cool and let it harden a bit. I probably could have let it sit a little longer in the fridge, as I did need to knead it together a bit after taking it out but it all turned out just fine.

Grab a spoon full into your hand and roll into a ball, roughly 1 - 1½. Then, in a small bowl add a bit of granulated sugar. Once your balls are rolled, gently dip into the sugar to coat just the top. After it is coated with sugar place gently on a baking sheet with the sugar side up.

Next, sprinkle the cookies with cool water. I first attempted to do this with a spoon (bad idea!) and found it was much easier to do by placing my hand under running water and flicking the cookies with the extra water from my hands. It was just enough to get a few drops of water on the cookies without completely soaking them (which you don't want to do). Then, place in the oven on the center rack for 10-12 minutes depending on your oven and altitude. 

Allow to cool on a rack. Then enjoy with a nice glass of cold milk! Your house will smell amazing and your family with be begging you for the recipe after they get a taste of these Molasses Crinkles.

Enjoy!