Molasses Cookies

I got some requests for this recipe at Sardis fall camp. I'm so glad y'all like them!

MOLASSES COOKIES


Wet Ingredients:
½ cup butter You can use all shortening if you prefer.
The cookies will spread out more and be thinner if you use butter,
but they’re good either way.
½ cup shortening
1 ½ cups sugar (I use ½ brown sugar and ½ regular)
½ cup molasses (I like a little more molasses so I use 2/3 cup)
2 eggs

Dry Ingredients:
4 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 ¼ tsp. baking soda
2 ¼ tsp. ground ginger
1 ½ tsp. ground cloves
1 ½ tsp. ground cinnamon

Cream together butter, shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in molasses and eggs; set mixture aside.
In a separate bowl, sift together flour, salt, soda, ginger, cloves and cinnamon. (If you don’t want to sift, just put in a bowl and combine with a whisk)
Gradually mix flour mixture into creamed ingredients until dough is blended and smooth.
Roll dough into 1 ½ inch balls. (If you have a cookie scoop, it makes this go faster) Dip tops in granulated sugar (raw/turbinado sugar is good too). Dip a pastry brush in water and brush tops. This will cause them to "crackle" more.
Bake on greased cookie sheet at 350 degrees for 11 minutes. (I start checking mine at 10 minutes. When the tops crack, you know they’re getting close. We like a chewy cookie so I underbake just a little.)
Makes 5 dozen.

Give me a quart of cold milk and the first tray of these as they come out of the oven and I could die a happy man! I think this is the same way my wife makes them.

Vonna, thanks again, Carol will be making some tomorrow after we buy the ingredients. Really enjoyed them at camp.