Over the weekend my cousins Amanda & Nichole were talking about Ginger Molasses Cookies. This made me think yet again about Nanny's recipe that I have been wanting to make for a while now. It has been a long time since I've made these cookies so I decided to jump on the wagon and make them. Nanny always had some cookies on hand, and more often than not she would have more than one kind. If she didn't have any, it was a very rare occasion!
The cookies above were made by my cousin Amanda :) Thanks Amanda for doing this for me!Nanny would make pineapple cookies (which my friend Cristine posted here), filled cookies - a soft vanilla flavored cookie with a raisin or date filling (you can see my cranberry, white chocolate and coconut variation of her recipe here), sugar cookies (which I have posted the recipe here and photos of here) and date nut cookies (I have not posted these). All of these cookies are puffy and soft and delicious! Sometimes she would make chocolate chip cookies but the ones mentioned prior are the ones I remember and loved the most.
This is my submission for the Family Recipes Event. We combined Feb/March Family Recipes event this time. Laura of The Spiced Life is hosting with Lynda of Lynda's Recipe Box and I co-hosting. To be included in the event, your submissions should be to Lynda by March 31, 2010 at midnight. To view the submission guidelines you can click HERE.
These cookies are soft, not too sweet (addition of frosting makes them sweeter!) and even better the day after they are made. Nanny would frost some and leave some unfrosted. Yeah, I had to do the same you know? Its just not right if I don't. As I sit here this morning I am thinking she would be ever so proud to see her recipes making it out to everyone else, and to see the photos of her recipes would tickle her pink!
Nanny's Ginger Molasses Cookies
Please do not reprint recipe or use photos without permission
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup molasses
1/2 cup shortening (I use oil and it works fine)
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk (you can sour milk with 1 tbsp lemon juice in the measuring cup then fill to 1 cup and let sit about 5 minutes for it to curdle)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon soda
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3-1/2 to 4 cups flour
Mix sugar thru shortening together. Sift together salt, baking powder, soda, ginger cinnamon and 3-1/2 cups flour. Add to dry to wet alternately with buttermilk or sour milk. You may need to add more flour (I ended up using about 5 cups flour all together). Chill for at least 2 hours. Remove dough onto floured surface (I do this 1 batch at a time for a total of 3-1/2 batches and using my large airbake I get about 18 cutouts per batch). Place dough you are not rolling back in fridge to keep chilled. Lightly coat dough with flour and shape into a round ball. Roll to about 1/2" thick. Cut with round cookie cutter. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes or until cookie looks dry on top and/or a slight dent remains when touching top of cookie with finger. Cool completely.
Frosting:
These are estimates as I don't normally measure my frosting ingredients. I kinda mix and add until I get the right consistency for spreading.
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
2-1/2 cups confectioners sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla
Start with 2 Tablespoons milk and add more as needed to make spreading consistency (this time I used heavy cream as I had some on hand)
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