Gingerbread Cookies

Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem

About 4 years ago, I bought a jar of molassas for some home made oatmeal cream pies. I think I used about 1/3 of a cup before I put back in the pantry, forgetting all about it. Since then, it's moved across country with me and only yesterday I decided to throw it out. Until I looked at the expiration date stamped on the top; it was good until the end of this year! Now the guilt consumed me and I decided I needed to use it right away. Being too lazy to Google molasses related recipes, I just made the recipe that was printed on the bottle for gingerbread cookies, and that's when my love for all things gingerbread began.

I remember being forced to make gingerbread houses in elementary schools, but don't recall ever eating one. And the boxes of gingersnaps my mother used to buy were certainly not my favorite. So I just assumed I wouldn't like it and this would instead be a nice treat for the kids. In the end, we all were fighting over the last cookie! The dough came together very nicely and quickly. I didn't freeze/chill the dough as written in the recipe and it still turned out well. I left out the cloves because I couldn't be bothered to ground some up and was worried it'd be too strong for the kids. They're not very sweet or too gingery, but just enough spice in them to make them stand out amongst the usual cookies. I kept a 1/3 of the batch in the freezer to bake off in case some unexpected company ever drops by, I can't wait to serve these with some hot tea.

Grandma's Molasses Gingerbread Cookies

1 stick butter (8 Tablespoons)

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup Grandma's molasses

1 egg

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ginger

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves ( I left this out)

Cream together butter, sugar, and molasses. Mix in egg. Add dry ingredients and mix well. Chill dough for 2 hours. Sprinkle flat surface with flour and roll dough to preferred thickness (thick for chewy, thin for crunchy). Cut dough with cookie cutter, place on baking sheet, and bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Cool and decorate, if desired.