NuM NuM

WOW these are good!!! Hence the exclamation points! These are stop what your doing, run to the grocery store and buy all the ingredients and make this kind of good. For Christmas, I'm baking cookies for lobster's grandparents so I've been looking for recipes online. This one is from Cook's Illustrated, so you know it has to be good. I've also been on the hunt for a chocolate chip recipe, but there's about a bajillion on the internet so I'll have to do a little more research for that one. If the chocolate chip cookies are as good as this one I'll be blogging about it very soon.

This is the first time I've ever made ginger cookies from scratch. Needless to say, there is no longer a reason to buy them from the store EVER AGAIN...EVERRRRR!!! These cookies had the right amount of spicy kick to them and the texture was phenomenal. Soft and chewy on the inside and a little crispy on the outside...nummmmmmmm. I was enjoying them so much I almost forgot to take a picture. Hence the half eaten cookie :)

Since there's just two of us, I always end up making half the recipe and giving away most of them. Slowly but surely I am making those around me mirror the physique of Santa Claus. Hey, I'm only looking out for their best interest. It's been a cold winter so everyone could use a bit of extra insulation.

I halved the recipe which made 11 cookies, minus the one in my tummy. ENJOY!!!

Soft & Chewy Molasses Spice Cookies
from Cook's Illustrated
Full version here

2.5 tbs sugar, plus 1/4 cup for rolling
1cup plus 2 tbs all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoons ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
2.5 tbs packed dark brown sugar
1/2 large egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup molasses, light or dark

Center a rack in the oven and preheat oven to 375 F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Place 1/2 cup sugar for dipping in a shallow, wide bowl.

Whisk flour, baking soda, spices, and salt in medium bowl until thoroughly combined; set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat butter with brown and granulated sugars at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to medium-low and add yolk and vanilla; increase speed to medium and beat until incorporated, about 20 seconds. Reduce speed to medium-low and add molasses; beat until fully incorporated, about 20 seconds, scraping bottom and sides of bowl once with rubber spatula. Reduce speed to lowest setting; add flour mixture and beat until just incorporated, about 30 seconds, scraping bowl down once. Give dough final stir with rubber spatula to ensure that no pockets of flour remain at bottom. Dough will be soft.

Using tablespoon measure, scoop heaping tablespoon of dough and roll between palms into 1 1/2-inch ball. Roll ball in sugar to coat and set on prepared baking sheet, spacing cookies about 2 inches apart. Repeat with remaining dough. Bake 1 sheet at a time until cookies are browned, still puffy, and edges have begun to set but centers are still soft (cookies will look raw between cracks and seem underdone), about 11 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through baking. Do not overbake if you want the cookies to be soft and chewy.

Cool cookies on baking sheet 5 minutes, then use wide metal spatula to transfer cookies to wire rack to cool completely

**I baked two cookie sheets at the same time so mine took about 13 minutes. I checked the cookies often the last two minutes and pulled them out just as the edges were a little set.