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Blue and white plate of homemade cookies

My Island Bistro Kitchen’s Old-fashioned Molasses Cookies

Perfectly flavored with a medley of warm spices and molasses, these old-fashioned rolled and cut out Molasses Cookies are easy to make. A perennial cookie jar favorite.
Course Cookies
Cuisine Canadian
Keyword Molasses Cookies, Old-fashioned Molasses Cookies, Rolled Cookies
Servings 24
My Island Bistro Kitchen Barbara - My Island Bistro Kitchen

Ingredients

  • ½ cup shortening (room temperature) [no substitutions]
  • ¼ cup granulated sugar
  • ¼ cup brown sugar
  • ½ cup molasses
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 1 large egg, fork beaten (room temperature)
  • 1/3 cup hot water
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • ½ tsp white vinegar
  • 2¾ cups all-purpose flour
  • ½ tsp cream of tartar
  • ½ tsp cinnamon
  • ½ tsp cloves
  • ½ tsp ginger
  • ¼ tsp allspice
  • ¼ tsp salt

Instructions

  1. In stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream the shortening and sugars together at medium-high speed until well combined, stopping as necessary to scrape down sides of bowl. With mixer set at medium speed, blend in the lightly beaten egg followed by the molasses and vanilla.
  2. Mix the baking soda into the hot water in a measuring cup. Add the vinegar and, with mixer set to low speed, transfer the liquid mixture to the batter. Once incorporated, increase mixer speed to medium and beat mixture for just a few seconds until ingredients are fully blended.
  3. Sift or sieve the flour, cream of tartar, spices, and salt together into a bowl. With mixer set to lowest speed, add the dry ingredients, about ¾ cup at a time, mixing well after each addition and stopping to scrape down sides of bowl, when necessary. Increase mixer speed to medium and mix batter for a few seconds to ensure all ingredients are blended in. Dough will be sticky but do not add any extra flour which would make the cookies, dense, dry, and hard.
  4. Cover bowl tightly with cling wrap (or transfer to bowl with airtight cover) and refrigerate dough for about 4 hours.
  5. When ready to bake cookies, position oven rack in center of oven and preheat oven to 350°F. Line cookie sheet(s) with parchment paper. Remove cookie dough from refrigerator and turn out onto a floured work surface. Roll dough to ¼“ thickness. Using a 2” lightly floured cookie cutter, cut out cookies and, using a thin-edged offset spatula, carefully transfer them to the prepared baking sheet(s), spacing cookies about 2½“ apart. Lightly re-flour cutter before cutting out each cookie. Gather dough scraps and re-roll to cut out remaining cookies. Bake for approximately 13-16 minutes, or until cookies appear set and show signs of starting to crack on tops. Turn cookie sheet(s) partway through baking. Adjust baking time according to how your oven heats but do not overbake which will result in hard cookies.
  6. Remove cookies from oven and allow them to rest on cookie sheet(s) for 5 minutes before transferring them to wire cooling racks to cool completely. Store at room temperature in airtight container to keep the cookies soft and prevent them from drying out. Cookies also freeze well for longer storage.

Recipe Notes

Yield: Apx. 24 – 2” cookies cut from ¼“ thick dough

[Copyright My Island Bistro Kitchen]

Note1: These cookies may be made gluten-free by substituting an equal amount of gluten-free 1-to-1/cup-for-cup flour for the all-purpose flour called for in the recipe and, of course, ensuring all other ingredients are gluten free.