I took a trip back to NY to see my Dad a few weeks ago. Our family home is smack in the middle of apple country, surrounded by orchards and cideries and apple fritter stands, and I was lucky enough to hit the absolute peak of apple season on my visit. One night, my stepmother made one of his absolute favorite desserts, baked apple dumplings, with fresh-picked Macoun apples from the farm down the road. But why am I telling you about apples when this is clearly a post about apple-free spice cookies? Because while she was making those apple dumplings, I figured out where my penchant for all things cinnamon and spice comes from. As I measured out the cinnamon in a neat level 1/2 teaspoon according to the recipe, she stopped me before I could put the spice jar away and said “Oh, you’ll need to at least triple that amount – he always says to add more cinnamon next time I make it! Apparently there is no upper limit!”
So that settles things – it’s a family trait! Not a bad one to inherit, all things considered, although it does leave me powerless in the presence of cinnamon rolls and snickerdoodles. If you also have the cinnamon genes, I think you will love these soft and chewy spice cookies, made with a full teaspoon of the good stuff, plus spicy ginger and warming cloves. Molasses keeps them deliciously soft and chewy. And a roll in sugar before baking gives them a subtle, eye-catching sparkle.
We always made these cookies for Christmas, but I think they work just as well on a rainy autumn afternoon with a mug of tea. Besides, they are too easy to not have in your regular cookie rotation. The dough comes together in a snap and takes a nice long nap in the fridge while the flour fully hydrates – overnight or while you’re at work is totally fine. Baking time is super short to ensure they don’t toughen up, so you can have fresh, warm, spicy cookies by the time you start to smell them in the oven. (But restrain yourself for at least 10 minutes after baking while they firm up on the cookie sheet!). They will come out puffy and rounded, but collapse into a crinkly sparkly disc as they cool.
And – full disclosure – yes, this recipe, the OG version we always made, does in fact call for (gasp!) Crisco. You may be tempted to swap out for butter, as I have in the past, given what we now know about the health effects of partially hydrogenated oils in shelf-stable margarine and shortening. But it wouldn’t be wise – you’ll lose the beautiful rounded edges and some of that delicious chew as the butter spreads out and partially evaporates due to the higher moisture content. All things in moderation – including trans fats.
These will keep beautifully for a week in an airtight container on the counter (and honestly, probably longer. Molasses is magic!). If you don’t want to make them all at once, you can also keep rolled balls of dough in the freezer and pop them in the oven when the cinnamon craving strikes – just increase the baking time by 2-3 minutes, keeping a close eye to make sure they don’t overbrown.
Soft and Sparkly Spice Cookies
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup (144g) vegetable shortening (Crisco)
- 1 cup (200g) white sugar
- 1 large egg (cold is fine)
- 1/4 cup (85g) molasses
- 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 2 tsp baking sofa
- 1/2 tsp salt
- extra sugar (white, demarara, or sparkling – any kind works) for rolling
Directions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer cream shortening and granulated sugar until light and fluffy.
- Beat in egg and molasses until thoroughly mixed.
- Sift flour, spices, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl. Add gradually to the shortening mixture with the mixer on low speed, stopping once no visible flour streaks remain. Do not overmix!
- Refridgerate dough a minimum of 5 hours, or preferably overnight.
- When you are ready to bake, like a baking sheet with parchment or silicone baking mat and preheat oven to 325F.
- Place about 1/4 cup sugar in a small bowl. Roll chilled dough into 0.5-1.5″ balls, depending on your desired cookie size (pictured above are 1″ balls), then roll in the sugar to coat before placing on the baking sheet at least 1 inch apart.
- Bake for 7-9 minutes, keeping a close eye. When they are puffy and golden brown around the edges, they are ready – do not overbake, as they will continue to bake and set after you remove them from the oven!
- Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes on the baking sheet before removing carefully to a wire rack to cool completely.
