My Favorite Cookies- Molasses Crinkles Recipe

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My Favorite Cookies- A Molasses Crinkles Recipe

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I’m not exactly sure how old I was when I first found this molasses crinkle recipe.

I suspect that I was 14, flipping through my Mom’s Betty Crocker Cooky Book. (It’s a kitchen staple- find it here)

If I’m remembering correctly, it was in preparation for a 4-H Baking Contest. I needed something new and delicious. I know for a fact that I entered these cookies into that contest; the only thing I can’t remember is whether or not that was really the first time I’d used the recipe.

In the years following that 4-H contest, I baked this molasses crinkle recipe, probably, a hundred times.

Baking cookies helped fund my sisters’ and I’s trip to the National FFA Convention. Many a Thursday was spent baking in preparation for a Friday Farmer’s Market. We sold cookies any chance we got.

But somehow, I wasn’t quite sick of them. I made these cookies and entered them into the fair.

Made them for road trips.

Made them when avoiding assignments in college.

Threw them together during (almost) all-nighters in FFA state office.

When I came to California, the cookies came too. Before my season with the forest service was over, I’d baked my go-to molasses crinkles and brought them to work.

Nowadays, I’m cooking much more often than I’m baking. But every so often I’ll throw a quick batch together. Baby loves them (of course) so I suspect I’ll continue to bake these cookies for years to come.

How to make this molasses crinkles recipe

If you’ve made cookies before, you’ll have a pretty good idea how to make these as well. The process is simple and the results delicious- what’s not to love?

 

We’ll start by softening the butter; it’s best when creamy, not melted.

To the butter, we’ll add the brown sugar, molasses, and egg.

If you have a duck egg lying around, it’s a great take on these cookies. But of course, any old egg will work.

Stir thoroughly to get all of the ingredients combined. It should be an smooth, evenly-colored brown batter, without any lumps.

Next we need to add the dry ingredients.

I may be looking for an something that isn’t really there, but I prefer to add in the order of soda – salt – spices – flour. I think it prevents you from getting a streak of nothing but salt, etc. Anyway.

Add the soda, the salt, the cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and ginger. Then add the flour.

Stir and stir and stir.

The sides of the bowl should be clean, the dough well combined, no weird lumps or streaks.

Now, at this point the dough is ready to bake. According to some molasses crinkle recipes, you should chill the dough before shaping and baking. If you want to chill the dough ahead of time, go for it. (It could probably last in the fridge for a few days if covered.)

I prefer to bake straight away.

Roll the dough into balls, 3/4″ – 2″ in diameter. (Whatever size you feel like doing is fine, but they’ll bake best if they are a consistent size)

Dip the tops in white sugar.

Arrange on a cookie sheet so they have space to spread out.

Bake.

Eat.

 

After making a batch of these, I usually have a few days of eating cookies for breakfast or lunch. Fresh out of the oven, still warm and soft, is a great option. BUT letting them cool and harden a little overnight is, strangely, even better.

I am a committed “nothing but coffee in my coffee” kind of person. Unless I happen to have some of these cookies around. Dipping a crispy molasses crinkle cookie in black coffee between each bite is exquisite.

I hope that you’ll give these cookies a whirl. A decade after that 4-H baking contest, these are still my favorites.

 

Thanks for reading & happy homesteading,

-Maia