I’m not the only one at my house that loves to Throw a Party! Yesterday my son hosted a pumpkin-carving soiree for some of his Halloween loving crowd.
We had a ton of fun carving pumpkins and roasting pumpkin seeds, followed by a yummy dinner of roasted fall vegetables, salad, and grilled steak. Initially we were going to make pumpkin pie for dessert – but it seemed kind of redundant and so I pulled out my recipe for Molasses Spice Cookies – the perfect fall treat. These cookies are a definite family favorite any time of year, but that wonderful aroma from baking is just what your house wants to smell like this time of year. The combined spices, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, allspice, and cardamom give an amazing pop of flavor. The molasses and brown sugar provide a rich kind of sweetness. But here is the secret ingredient that makes these cookies special – a tiny pinch of pepper. Yep – pepper in a cookie sounds weird, but trust me – it works. The dough is a cinch to mix up. An hour in the fridge makes it even better and then you simply roll the dough into walnut sized balls, roll in sugar and bake for just eight minutes. They are the most beautiful cookies in the world.
They get little cracks in them and then the best part is that they are sparkly. In fact one of the girls at the party was so enchanted by the sparkles from the sugar that she had to get the recipe right on the spot. My son and husband disagree and will tell you that sparkling is not the best part (men don’t appreciate sparkles), it’s the delicious crunch crust and soft center. The spicy yummy taste is no slouch either, but really – you have to love a sparkly cookie. You’ll adore Molasses Spice Cookies and want to keep them in your cookie jar recipe collection!
Watch Channel 5’s Talk of the Town Monday, Oct 30 (11:00 AM) for the debut of the newest cookbook, You’re Grown – Now You Can Throw a Party!
Ingredients
1 stick (½ cup) butter
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup white sugar (plus extra for rolling cookies)
1 egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp ginger
½ tsp cloves
¼ tsp allspice
¼ tsp cardamom
¼ tsp pepper
¼ tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
½ cup molasses
2¼ cups flour
Directions
With an electric mixer cream together butter, brown sugar, and butter.
Add egg yolk and vanilla and mix to combine.
Add all spices, salt, and baking soda and mix to combine, scraping down the sides of the bowl.
Add molasses and mix to combine.
Mix in flour starting with 1 cup to combine and then adding the rest and mixing thoroughly.
Refrigerate dough for an hour (or up to 24 hours).
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or spray with cooking spray.
Roll dough into walnut size balls and roll in sugar.
Place on baking sheet and bake 8 to 10 minutes.
Allow to cool and enjoy!
