Revisiting my youth – from cane to cookie…

Several years ago, I started thinking about a cookie my Grandma made when I was a child – a moist chewy molasses cookie… soft, dark golden brown and covered with the slightest dusting of flour (which I never fully understood until I made them for the first time myself). This thought of those molasses cookies was so strong, in fact, that I searched the 'Net – surely someone would have a recipe for such a fond memory from my youth? After nigh a week of searching in vain only to find recipes for gingerbread cookies or molasses and oatmeal cookies, I resorted to the obvious – call my then 90 year old Grandma and ask her for the recipe!


Needless to say she was thrilled that I'd even remembered, much less thought so fondly of them that I would consider making them myself! Lesson learned in all this? Get those recipes from your older cherished loved ones. …especially those that aren't written down! Write them down and pass them on to those in your life that you hold dear – you'll never know the fond memories the simplest of recipes may have in a loved one's life 30 or 40 or 50 years from now…


The preparation of these delectable morsels, while simple in terms of the ingredients, can put even the most seasoned kitchen cook through their paces. The results, when properly done, are reminiscent of a simpler time – years gone by for this author. The dough for these cookies is very sticky and can be a bit difficult to manage. Resist the urge to overwork the dough as doing so will toughen the cookie to the point that you'll have to call the neighborhood dogs in for afternoon tea!


To prepare, combine the following ingredients in a large mixing bowl:

3/4 C Sugar

1 C Molasses

1 C Boiling Water

2 t baking soda

1 C all purpose flour

Stir with a wooden smooth until just mixed through, cover with plastic wrap and let stand on the counter overnight.


The next morning, to this room temperature mixture, incorporate

2 Eggs

A pinch of salt

Enough all purpose flour to make the dough manageable.

The dough will be rather sticky and can test your patience at this point. My Grandma would, at this point, roll the dough out on a well floured surface using a floured rolling pin until she had a sheet a healthy 1/8" in thickness (1/4" is too thick – 1/8" isn't thick enough). If you've worked the dough minimally and used adequate flour while rolling the dough out, you'll have an abundance of flour, much as if you'd prepared biscuits from scratch. Using a coffee mug or 3 1/2" round cutter, cut your cookies out of the sheeted dough, pat or brush off excess flour and place on a Silpat® or parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Bake in preheated 350° F oven for 10 minutes. (NOTE: A thicker cookie will require additional baking time – 11-13 minutes and perhaps as much as 15 minutes.) Remove from oven and let rest at least 2-3 minutes on cookie sheet before removing from Silpat® or parchment paper. Allow to cool completely on wire rack before storing in a tightly covered container.


<Subliminal suggestion>
Make an ice cream sandwich by cradling a scoop or two of your favorite ice cream between two molasses cookies
</Subliminal suggestion>


As a child, part of the mystique of these cookies was the light coating of flour that adhered to them throughout the baking process and later as they were stored. Little did I know, at the time, that flour "was a tell" to Grandma – she knew if I'd been in the Molasses cookies! Lucky for me, they were made with love – she hardly cared…