I decided to bake these cookies to kill three birds with one stone. Bird number one was, of course, one of the Tuesdays with Dorie recipes. Bird number two, I needed gingersnap cookies to make a crumble for the top of some muffins I baked with SMS, and knew these cookies would fit the bill (though as my son pointed out, there is a difference between gingersnap cookies and molasses cookies, but I digress!). The third bird I wished to kill was having something yummy to bake for my Operation Baking Gals team, Team Oven Loving for the Recovering - East Coast. So, this recipe worked out great for me. I love it when a plan comes together! :)
These were no real trouble to put together. The dough was very soft when I wrapped it in plastic and placed it in the freezer to cool for 30 minutes. It was still a bit soft when I began to use it; my palms were coated in cookies dough after rolling just a couple of balls. I just cut smaller portions to work with and kept the rest in the fridge.
I did not make big cookies, mine were maybe two inches across. I wanted enough to ship to my soldiers and enough to crush for the crumble. I ended up with about 5 dozen, give or take a couple. (Like the couple two or three I ate)
The cookies tasted as wonderful as they smelled while baking. These were soooooo very good. I am glad I shipped all of them off. They were dangerous. The couple I ate was actually more like 4 or 5...I lost count! They were crispy around the edges when you first bit into them and then the center was soft and chewy. The flavor was delicious. I added a good sized pinch of black pepper to mine, and didn't think it made them too hot at all. In fact, I think I would add a touch more in the future. My son's favorite cookie is Molasses, and when he heard I gave them all away he was crushed. That's okay. Just gives me a reason to bake another batch.
