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Monday, April 2, 2012

Soft and Chewy Molasses Cookies ...and a Dog's Eye View of Gilbert's Creek

molasses cookie

Your gonna love this moist, soft, chewy molasses cookie!  To Read More, Click On The Recipe Title.
 But before we talk about this divine little morsel , I wanted to introduce you to some of our canine characters on Gilbert's Creek.
When you come off the highway onto Gilbert's Creek you start to descend.  And you keep descending about 6 miles.  The road gets smaller...like if a car is coming , one of you have to go onto the side of the road so the other one can pass...yeah that  small.  The trees extend over the road on both sides to form a literal tunnel of green.


Photobucket

We don't get a lot of traffic down here, the only people that travel this road are the people who live here. And occasional sightseers  Everyone here owns dogs, dogs that ( even though there are no leash laws down here) stay on there own land.  None of our pets are caged or tied up.  We all know that traveling on Gilbert's Creek is a slow ride.  Slow because.....you never know what to expect.  For example.
The first house you come to belongs to Rat and Crazy Bob's owners.


Rats house

Rat is 15 years old and on occasion has been know to lay down and take a nap in the middle of the road.

Rat

I guess Rat feels like at her age , she's earned the right to nap where ever she wants to, and we agree.   If she's asleep, blowing the horn to move her doesn't work , she's deaf . You have to get out of the car and wake her.  Rats brother Crazy Bob...

Crazy Bob

Is a sweet dog, unless your riding a bike or in a car passing his house.  For some reason, he doesn't like wheels. Look at those eyes, I think that's where the crazy part of his name comes in.  Moving along down the road you'll come across Jade.


Jade

Jade is very low to the ground , but don't let her smallness fool you.  If Jade doesn't scare you off her land, her posse will....they've got her back.

Guard Goats

When Jade barks the goats come running!  They make quite a team.  Guard Goats, yep only on Gilbert's Creek. 

Still farther down on the creek and closer to our house, you have Buddy...

Buddy

Buddy is a regular visitor to our house, he loves my Derby, and wants to marry her.

Derby
Our Derby isn't interested though, she's a daddy's girl.  We adopted Derby when she was 2 1/2 years old.  Before that she was owned by a breeder and kept in a cage her entire life.  Now, she goes where ever her little heart pleases.  She goes to the river to swim.

derby

And to the creek to explore.  And everyday we take a walk so she can visit her friends.  Life is good on Gilbert's Creek.

Now about those cookies.....



molasses cookie

The molasses cookies are every bit as good as the Sugar Cookies in my last post.  EVERY BIT!!  These cookies have a perfect blend of  rich spicy flavor, almost aromatic.   The cookie is soft and chewy and stays that way.  My neighbor who is seventy plus years young told me ...I haven't had a molasses cookie this good since I left home.  I followed the recipe exactly.  Be careful to not over bake these cookies or they will get hard, just follow the baking time and remove them from the oven when they are set and puffed up and you will have the best molasses cookie you ever bit into!  Don't wait till the holidays to make molasses cookies, make them now!  Just imagine what this cookie would taste like with vanilla ice cream sandwiched in between them....I'm getting weak in the knees just thinking about it.  

molasses cookies

Click here to print the recipe.

Molasses Cookies
Simply Recipes
 From Cook's Illustrated's The Best Recipes Cookbook

Ingredients

  • 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons of baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon of salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
  • 3/4 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar, plus 1/3 cup for rolling cookies
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/3 cup unsulphered molasses

Method

1 Preheat oven to 375°F. Mix together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, allspice together in a bowl and set aside.
2 Use an electric mixer and beat the butter for 2 minutes. Add the brown sugar, and 1/2 cup granulated sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes with mixer set at medium speed. Add egg, vanilla extract, and molasses. Beat until combined, about 30 seconds. Scrape down sides of bowl with a rubber spatula.
3 Add dry ingredients and beat at low speed until just combined, about 30 seconds.
4 Place remaining 1/3 cup of granulated sugar in a shallow bowl. Working with 2 Tbsp of dough each time, roll dough into 1 3/4 inch balls. Roll balls in sugar and place on ungreased cookie sheets, spacing them 1 1/2 to 2 inches apart.
5 Bake until the outer edges of the cookies begin to set and centers are soft and puffy, about 11 to 13 minutes. Cool cookies on sheets for 2 to 3 minutes before transferring them to cooling racks .
Note: do not overcook. The centers of the cookies should be somewhat soft and spongy when you take them out of the oven, otherwise they will end up hard and dry.
Optional Glaze
When cookies have cooled, lay out over a sheet of wax paper. Sift 1 1/4 cups of confectioner's sugar (powdered sugar) and then whisk with 2 Tbsp of milk until smooth. Dip spoon into glaze and dribble over cookies.
Yield: Makes 18 large cookies

11 comments:

Marie Rayner said...

Mmmm... great cookies. They look just like molasses crinkles which are a real favourite around here. Love the pictures of the countryside and the dogs. How very beautiful! xxoo

The Cutting Edge of Ordinary said...

Love this post and getting to meet all the pups and those cookies! Some of my faves!!! Thanks for sharing a little of your world with us! Love, Lisa!

BumbleVee said...

Gives whole new meaning to "it's a dog's life" .... each of them is having such fun doing what they love ... that's great.

Debbie said...

I plan on trying these cookies and the sugar cookies from last week. Both look delicious. Can't resist a good cookie or a sweet dog. I have 2 and love them dearly!

Todd Stevens said...

If you want a main course to pair with the molasses cookies I found this ebook full of recipes from the nations most popular restaurants. http://nestez.com/recipe.php Save money and eat at home

grace said...

i love all the critters, and the cookies look amazingly chewy!

Katrina said...

What great pictures! And the cookies--yeah, I don't need the holidays here for those. Yum!

Joe Richardson said...

Bunny, your food photos are exquisite! It's midnight here, and after 10 minutes on your blog, I'm starving.

Also, Gilbert's Creek--yeah, I'm jealous. Culture, history, and a cast of characters. It's like living in a rural storybook.

Thanks so much for sharing your shots and recipes!

Best,
Joe

Debbie said...

I love your stories about the dogs and the goats! Amazing...especially the one that naps in the road...priceless and Crazy Jack...God that's good stuff. You food is also amazing. I am on a diet right now and just looking at your photos makes me want to cave...but I guess I can look can't I? Wonderful post.

PG said...

Wow - Gilbert's Creek looks beautiful and a true dog heaven. Love the guard goats.

Anonymous said...

Baked these last night and they are a HIT! Easy to follow recipe and the 11 minutes were perfect for my oven.

Thanks for the recipe.... Mmmmmmmm!
Kellie