My mom’s cousin from Texas commented on my recent use of molasses: “A staple in every Hoosier’s kitchen!” On that note, I hereby declare a week of molasses recipe-sharing at cozywalls.com. These cookies come by way of my Great-Grandmother’s Sister-in-Law, Aunt Velma. Though I never knew her, I cannot mistake the smell of these cookies baking in the oven: the combination of cloves and molasses warms the soul.
When I was little, my mom would let me roll the dough balls in a bowl of sugar before placing them on the cookie sheet. For this batch I used some pretty big sparkle sugar, and the added crunch and shimmer was a delightful result (don’t be fooled by the crunch though, these cookies are also soft-middled). Usually paired with a glass of milk or mug of tea, this week at the store there was a bargain on black cherry gelato. Together with that blackstrap molasses cookie, the gelato was transformed into a black forest trifle of molasses sorts. I like to think of it as Blackstrap Forest.
Aunt Velma’s Molasses Cookies
Preheat Oven to 375-degrees
Mix together:
3/4 cups shortening
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup molasses
1.5 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
about 2 cups flour
Roll in balls “the size of walnuts” and dip in sugar. Bake 8-10 minutes.
cozywalls 
Love this post, fantastic photos. (the doily shot is my fave) and l-o-v-e the big sparkle sugar!
thanks, BB – those grease proof doilies are handy and pretty between cookies!
yum! I love Talenti Gelato!
favorite flavor?
a toss up between Blood Orange & Carribean Coconut, you? 🙂
I need to taste those! I like Double Dark Chocolate & Mediterranean Mint quite a bit…
mm sounds goood! Ill have to try those out! lovely photos btw; do you use a macro lens?
no macro lens, just the kit lens that came with the camera… Canon T1i.
great work then!
Wow….I mean really wow. Love those cookies and I adore Talgetti Gelato. The strawberry makes me swoon.
me too, Chef Connie. I am always ready to taste a new flavor variety!
I made those last week Amy!
of course you did 🙂
Great pics and more molasses…we can’t keep up, but we will be making these, too..
Fantastic photos, very artistic! I really enjoy the one looking inside the bowl!
That looks absolutely divine!
so much yumminess. I called it a trifle rather than an ice cream sandwich, because I ended up using a spoon to finish the dish 🙂
This is really pretty! I need to get myself some sparkle sugar now, thanks for the temptation! ❤
sparkle sugar is always a good decision 🙂
About the best comfort food ever – to the eye and the taste!
P.S. The plates under the ice cream sandwich belonged to Amy’s great-grandma on the other side of the family, handed down from her great-grandmother, ca 1824.
thanks for the important note, Mom. I love those rosy-hued dishes.
Wow, these are absolutely gorgeous! 🙂
Do you use actual blackstrap molasses or medium or mild molasses in the recipe? You mentioned blackstrap in your post, so I was just curious.
Yes, I use blackstrap. Lighter molasses works well too if you prefer.
Ohhh, I love Talenti! My favorite flavor is Salted Caramel and their sweet reusable containers. These look super yummy.
Salted Caramel = on my list! And excellent point – those little containers are fun to reuse.
I love this opportunity to use cloves! The smell of cloves always bring me back to the 1980’s, cooking with my mom! Thank you, Amy!
Oh, I just ate a couple of these delicious cookies courtesy of your wonderful mother. She is so, so thoughtful! Bob, my hubby, loved them too! He compared them to his all-time favorite molasses cookies that his grandma used to make. Thanks for sharing! By the way, I’m loving your blog!!
Courtney, I am so glad you both enjoyed them 🙂 🙂
My Uncle Steve used to send me batches when I was at IU. I looove molasses cookies. I am going to get some big sparkle sugar to use it looks so cool! We always had Brear Rabbit molasses.
that’s the kind we used to get too! I am sure that is why I always think of that story with the Tar Baby when I start to pour the molasses in the measuring cup.
Such a great flavour combination!
I love it… and now I will be thinking of how to incorporate that combo elsewhere.
*Adds to my to-do list for this weekend, lol.
I love the addition of back cherry gelato in the middle. How delightful!
Black cherry*
hope you have a great weekend.
These cookies are so pretty. Cherry desserts are my husband’s favorite, so I know this dish would be a beg hit at our house 🙂
I love cherries too! I hope you enjoy the cookie recipe. I was looking at them the other day thinking, it’s like Christmas in May.
I love the flavor of blackstrap molasses. I used to make black strap molasses tea when I lived in colder climates like Chicago. Your photos are gorgeous!
sounds delicious and comforting – especially during those giant snowfalls!
These photos are drool-worthy. Must try this recipe soon – thanks for sharing it! 🙂
drool-worthy: I like that seal of approval! you are welcome – hope you enjoy the recipe.
And worth mentioning — the sugar-covered dough balls are irresistable to eat before baking!
worthy mention.
Just successfully made these cookies for a Mother’s Day brunch at my parents’ house! It is the perfect level of sweetness, which makes it a terrific pairing with (I’m assuming) just about any type of ice-cream or gelato. We had a choice of either cappucino or chocolate hazelnut gelato this afternoon. Both tasted wonderfully with the cookies! All thanks to you, Amy! And your Aunt Velma, of course! 🙂
Jessica, that’s super news! I am going to have to make some more, just to go along with cappuccino gelato – that sounds gooood. I hope that you will enjoy the recipe for years to come 🙂
[…] originally posted my Great Aunt Velma’s molasses cookie recipe* when I made molasses cookies with black cherry gelato. For this test run, I halved the recipe (~32 cookies when you make the dough balls a tablespoon), […]
[…] molasses cookies have the perfect amount of sweetness! They were a cinch to make with easily accessible […]