Molasses spice cookies: a recipe

Molasses spice cookies

Hopefully, you were one of the lucky ones that scored the awesome Dorie Greenspan book set deal on Amazon a few weeks ago. Two of Dorie's beautiful, awesome cookbooks for less than six bucks: I'm not sure why, but at that price, who cares?

I'm already a big fan of Around My French Table and as I started leafing through Baking: From My Home to Yours, I knew I would (again) not be disappointed. (After the stuffed pumpkin, figgy pudding and cocktail cookies, I am a Dorie groupie for life.)

I already have about twelve gajillion post-it flags marking the recipes I want to try (be prepared for an onslaught of scones in the weeks ahead).

And this was one of the first.

I decided to try these molasses spice cookies first because, like the infamous salted oatmeal cookies, they promised a sweet-yet-savory surprise, with the inclusion of black pepper in the dough.

Verdict? As Dorie suggested, I added a big pinch of black pepper but I couldn't taste it at all in the finished cookie. That being said, it didn't really matter, since the cookies were plenty spicy and molasses-y, not to mention chewy in the center and slightly crunchy around the edges.

Yum.

A few hints for you:

• These cookies wind up spreading a lot and as a result are huge! Be sure to give them lots of breathing room on the baking sheet before you put them in the oven.
• The dough is very sticky, even after being rolled in the sugar. When you use a drinking glass to flatten the balls, make sure to dip it into the bowl of sugar each time or the cookie will stick to the glass.
• The size of the cookies makes them ideal for creating ice cream sandwiches!

But I think next time I'll try adding more pepper.

Thanks, Dorie -- you rock.

Molasses Spice Cookies (from Dorie Greenspan)

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
Large pinch of ground black pepper
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1 egg
1/2 cup sugar (for rolling)

Directions:
Whisk together the first 7 ingredients (through the pepper) in a bowl and set aside.

Beat the butter on medium speed in a stand mixer until creamy. Add the brown sugar and molasses and beat for about 2 minutes. Add the egg and beat for another minute. Lower the speed and add the dry ingredients, a bit at a time, until all incorporated.

Divide the dough in half and wrap each half in plastic wrap. Freeze for 30 minutes or refrigerate for at least 1 hour (can be refrigerated for up to four days).

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line at least 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Working with one packet of dough at a time, divide the dough into 12 pieces, roll each piece into a ball, roll each ball in a bowl of sugar until coated and place on the prepared baking sheets. Dip the bottom of a drinking glass into the sugar and use it to press down and flatten the cookies until they are about 1/4 inch thick.

Bake one sheet at a time for about 14 minutes or until the cookies feel set on top. Let the cookies rest for a minute on the baking sheet, separating them with a spatula if the edges are touching. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. (Then repeat the process with the second packet of dough.)