Spiced And Glazed Molasses Cookies Recipes

MOLASSES SPICE COOKIES WITH DARK RUM GLAZE

Steps:

• Adjust an oven rack to the middle position. Heat oven to 375. Spread 1/2 cup sugar in a shallow dish for coating. Set aside. Whisk the flour, baking soda, spices, pepper and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside.
• Beat butter, brown sugar and remaining 1/3 cup sugar together in a large bowl using an elecctric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3-6 inutes. Beat in egg yolk and vanilla until combined, about 30 seconds. Beat in the molasses until incorporated, about 30 seconds, scraping down the side of the bowl and bveater as needed.
• Reduce mixer speed to low. Slowly mix in the flour mixture until combined, about 30 seconds. (Dough will be soft.) Give the dough a final stir with a rubhger spatula to make sure it is combinewd.
• Using wet hands, roll 2 T. dough at a time into balls, then roll in the sugar to coat. Lay on two parchment-lined baking sheets, spaced about 2 inches apart. Bake, one sheet at a tim, until edges set and tops are cracked but centers are still soft and underdone. (Peek thru cracks to check centers.) It's about 10-12 minutes. Rotate the baking sheet halfway thru baking.
• Let cookies cool on sheet for 10 minutes. You can serve them at this point or transfer to a wire rack, cooling completely before putting on the rum glaze.
• To make glaze, just mix the confectioners sugar and rum together until smooth. Drizzle it over the cooled cookies. Let set for 10-15 minutes before serving.
• NOTE: if you want to make these w/o the rum glaze, you could also use a variation that has orange essence in it. Just add 1 t. grated orange zest to the dough when you add the molasses. Process 2/3 cup sugar with 2 t. grated orange zest in a food processor until fragrance, about 10 seconds. Use that for rolling instead of the plain white sugar.

CHEWY MOLASSES-SPICE COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. In a shallow bowl, place 1/2 cup sugar; set aside.
• With an electric mixer, beat butter and remaining cup of sugar until combined. Beat in egg and then molasses until combined. Reduce speed to low; gradually mix in dry ingredients, just until a dough forms.
• Pinch off and roll dough into balls, each equal to 1 tablespoon. Roll balls in reserved sugar to coat.
• Arrange balls on baking sheets, about 3 inches apart. Bake, one sheet at a time, until edges of cookies are just firm, 10 to 15 minutes (cookies can be baked two sheets at a time, but they will not crackle uniformly). Cool 1 minute on baking sheets; transfer to racks to cool completely.

SPICED AND GLAZED MOLASSES COOKIES

Steps:

• Whisk all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and 1 1/2 tsp. pepper in a medium bowl to combine.
• Using an electric mixer on medium speed,beat brown sugar and butter in a large bowl until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg and beat to incorporate. Add 1/3 cup molasses and mix just to combine. Reduce mixer speed to low and gradually add dry ingredients; beat just until incorporated. Pat dough together and wrap in plastic. Chill until firm, about 1 hour.
• Place racks in upper and lower thirds of oven; preheat to 350°F. Scoop out level tablespoonfuls of dough and roll between the palms of your hands into smooth balls. Place on 2 parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing about 2" apart (you should be able to fit about 12 on each sheet).
• Bake cookies, rotating baking sheets top to bottom and back to front halfway through, until just firm around the edges, 9-12 minutes (if you like chewier cookies, bake less, and if a crispier cookie is your thing, bake a little longer). Let cookies cool about 5 minutes on baking sheets, then transfer to wire racks and let cool completely.
• Repeat with remaining dough, using fresh parchment paper on baking sheets.
• Whisk powdered sugar, milk, and remaining 1 Tbsp. molasses in a medium bowl until smooth. The glaze should be very thick and glossy but still pourable. If needed, add more milk or water 1/2-teaspoonful at a time until you get to the right consistency. Drizzle glaze over cookies and sprinkle with raw sugar and more pepper.
• Do Ahead
• Cookies can be baked and glazed 2 days ahead. Once glaze is set, store airtight at room temperature, or freeze unglazed cookies up to 1 month in resealable plastic bags.