There is a chill in the air and the leaves are turn bright colors. All that is missing is the smell of spice in your house. How about making a batch of soft molasses cookies just perfect for a cup of hot chocolate or spiced apple cider. This is an updated heirloom recipe that I am sharing with you. I have changed the lard to shorting and figured out the baking temperature and baking time. The cookies are filled with raisins and nuts that stay soft after baking. I like to frost some of them and leave the rest unfrosted because the unfrosted ones keep a lot longer. Heirloom cookie recipes usually makes a lot. This recipe makes about 5 dozen. There is nothing yummier then home made molasses cookies on a cold wet day to warm your heart.
Soft Molasses Cookies
Ingredients:
- 2 ¼ cups flour
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 tablespoons hot water
- ½ cup soft shortening
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ cup molasses
- 1 egg
- 6 tablespoons cold water
- ¾ cup raisins
- ½ cup chopped nuts (topping the cookies before baking)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Prepare baking sheets with parchment paper or spray with vegetable spray.
Sift together flour, ginger, cinnamon and salt. Dissolve soda in hot water. In a large mixing bowl, mix shortening, sugar, molasses and egg until creamy. Mix in flour mixture alternately with cold water. Then mix in soda and raisins. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls, 2 inches apart onto prepared cookie sheets. Sprinkle with more raisins and the nuts. Bake at 400 degrees F. for 12 minutes or until done. Makes 5 dozen.
These are good cookies to ship as gifts because they keep for a couple of weeks.
Momoe's Cupboard 
Reblogged this on Once Upon a Paradigm and commented:
Great cookies to make and they will keep a long time.
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I love molasses cookies! Haven’t had them in years. They really look good.
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I have see molasses cookies recipes that are gluten free. There was one that was published last month here on wordpress that was good. I don’t remember who published it. That might be something to google for. I do remember the recipes I have seen use a flour blend and gar gum then pretty much the same after that like wheat flour molasses recipe. Thanks for stopping in.
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My mother used to make this. But she made the soft chocolate cookies more often. I will be making some oatmeal chocolate chip (toll hose) cookies today.
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I my recipe I use sugar in the raw instead of half white and half brown. Seems to work OK.
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I like these because they keep for a while if you put them in a tight container. I thought this would be a good recipe to post early because they can be shipped for the holidays.
Just keep in mind that sugar is concidered a liquid in a recipe and there is little difference in natural granular sugars except the flavor they bring. The raw sugar brings a nice undertone of flavor to baking. Brown sugar is a mixture of molassas and granulated sugar that can help give a slight caramel flavor to baking. Your recipe is probably yummy with raw sugar.
Thanks for commenting.
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I’m definitly saving this one moe…and IS THAT a McCoy Brown Drip fluted bowl behind those cookies????? I want – I want! dru
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It is a brown drip “Hull Ginger Man Cookie” platter. No Dru, you can’t have it. It goes with all my other brown drip including the chicken covered casserole. LOL… My family thinks my brown drip dishes are ugly. It has taken me 40 years to collect them. I have a mixture of Hall, McCoy, Hull, and Falsgraft. I started out with a nice set of Falsgraft dinnerware in the late 1960’s that set me back a pretty penny then. I didn’t get any china when I was married so I bought that for good dishes. I just kept adding to it because then I did alot of entertaining and the serving peices were used often. Later I found some in thrift stores because it was out of fashion and no one was making it any more. I only see them now on ebay. You made my day liking my brown drip dish.
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Well, since it was COVERED with cookies, you can see my mistake. I have lots of the McCoy brown drip
(mostly from ebay but the occassional Bauer bowl from my grandmother)
and some Williamsburg “brown drip” too but that has the tiniest bit of turquoise in it.
All my dishes are 60s or older and yes a lot are considered ugly by the non believers too. My china is Desert Rose (got to support the home team) All the pottery came on board after my pink, black & turquoise “melmac” stuff finally gave up the ghost and after I decided I really needed dishes that would go into the microwave.
Keep these recipies coming, I love ’em! dru
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The molasses cookies look delicious! I have not had these in such a long time. This is a perfect recipe! And I love the fact that they keep for a couple of weeks.
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They stay soft too. Thanks for your comment.
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C is for cookie, is good enough for me …
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Hmm…You have been following your diet for a while with great success. You can’t just eat one of these. Thanks for stopping by.
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ahhhhh…these were a Fall specialty of my Grandmothers. We even make our own molasses from the sugar cane.
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My daughter’s neighbor has sugar cane growning along their house. maybe they make molasses too. As always thanks for stopping by.
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My chocolate chip cookies turned out very good.
A couple of things. Using the raw sugar, I add a bit of water to compensate.
I use the milk carton eggs as my car is out of commission and walking/bus makes real eggs a bit iffy.
And one little hint for the newbees and other cooks, I put heavy duty aluminum foil on the bottom oven rack so the bottoms of my cookies won’t burn.
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I have a baking stone that sets on my bottom rack. There is three racks to my oven. I only take it out to clean the oven. I make bread often and I put the stone on the center rack for that. It also helps distributes heat evenly.
I hope you can soon get your car fixed soon. I use the egg whites sometimes from the dairy case for recipes.
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Car going to be replaced. It has too much else wrong. The current problem is the clutch assembly and throw out bearing. Fourth of fifth time for this and likely will need CVs soon as well. Plus AC work and the usually oil seals etc.
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These look so great! They remind me of my nana’s!
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I hope your diet is getting easier for you. You have had some great guest bloggers helping you out. Hang in there. We are all pulling for you. Thanks.
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Thank you very much! I keep plugging away at it!!
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Nice job! Thanks for sharing this recipe.
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You are welcome.
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Yum!
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Wow, these look perfect for the fall weather. I want my house to smell like spice…delish! I think i even have some molasses in the pantry!
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You will enjoy them when you try them. They taste so much better then the commericial molasses cookies.
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I would believe that! They look better too : )
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This recipe looks similar to a recipe that my mother-in-law gave me years ago. I often make them as part of my Christmas baking, but never thought about icing them. I think that I’ll try icing some of them this year. .
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I make them more then Christmas because they are good and the recipe makes alot. Packages of cookies have less in them now. They last all week with the grandchildern. The icing tones down the favor of the molasses and adds just a little sweetness in the bite. You taste the icing first then the molasses. Thanks.
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Mmm nothing beats molasses flavour 😀
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
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Thanks for stopping in. I like your blog and recipes.
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