Ginger Cookies

HokiesLady's Note:

A recipe my mom always made for us. I think she is the reason I love all those nutty spices like ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves - the list goes on and on. These are great with a nice cup of tea for dipping! The dough needs to chill 2 hours before rolling out for cutting - so allow this extra time. The amount of cookies will vary depending on the size and shape of the cookie cutters you use. For a standard 2" round cutter, you will get approximately 40 cookies from this recipe.

• Total Time: 2 hrs 45 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 2 hrs 30 mins

Ingredients:

Serves: 20

Yield: 40.0 cookies

• 1/3 cup shortening (at room temperature)
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 1/2 cups dark molasses
• 1/2 cup cold water
• 6 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon allspice
• 1 teaspoon ginger
• 1 teaspoon clove
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 3 tablespoons cold water

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325°F.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the shortening, brown sugar and molasses.
3. Stir in the 1/2 c cold water.
4. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, salt, and spices (NOT the baking soda).
5. Mix the flour mixture into the wet ingredients.
6. In a small bowl, stir the baking soda into the 3 tbls of cold water; then stir into the other dough mixture.
7. Chill dough for a minimum of 2 hours.
8. Roll out dough to a 1/2" thickness.
9. Cut with cookie cutters of your desired shape/design.
10. Place 2 inches apart onto a greased cookie sheet.
11. Bake for 14-16 minutes.

Reviews

[Lainey6605]

These cookies are very good. The molasses flavor is very intense and I would like to taste more of the ginger. I did chill my dough well over 2 hours, but the dough did stick to the counter when I tried to roll it. I don't know if you are supposed to add flour, but I didn't think that would look very nice since these cookies are brown. So, instead of continuing the rolling, I rolled them into balls and then into granulated sugar like I do with my recipe for ginger cookies. These cookies did not flatten, however, which was fine. I baked the first batch for 12 minutes. However, that was too long for me since I like them a little bit soft. The next batches were baked for only 10 minutes. Overall, this is a very good cookie and if you like a strong molasses flavor, you will love these. Thanks for sharing!

[Lorrie in Montreal]

Made for 123 tag. I chose to copy Lainey's method by rolling them into balls and then sugar...I just LOVE these cookies...I'm a huge fan of ginger!

[Sydney Mike]

Always love the smell & taste of ginger anything, & these cookies are no different ~ They're GREAT! I did make mine considerably bigger & got 25 cookies from the recipe! Also used a dark brown sugar (The more molasses, the better!)! Thanks for posting! [Tagged, made & reviewed in Zaar Chef Alphabet Soup cooking game]