Tangerine Tea

Posts Tagged ‘drop cookies’

It’s funny how we crave food that makes us feel the opposite of what the weather might suggest.

Spice cookies and milk

In this case, we were in the middle of – yes – another snowstorm. Heaps and heaps of fluffy white stuff dumped on us. The streets buried and sparkling under the streetlamps. Deadly silent. Not a soul ventured outside.

Afternoon game of hockey in the snow

And while I was tempted to experiment with a new recipe, another part of me just wanted a snuggly warm blanket, dog curled up at my feet, a mug of frothy hot chocolate, and a couple of my all-time favourite chewy spice cookies. You can guess what happened next

Spice Cookies

Spice cookies won by a long shot. I had actually been meaning to archive the recipe online anyway, since the original, scrawled on a scrap of paper bearing the marks of plenty of usage, was looking rather shabby.

Cookie recipe

And so it was that as the snow continued to blanket the city through the night, we curled up at home with the earthy smells of cinnamon and clove perfuming my cosy kitchen.

Cookies and Milk

Try out the recipe here. It’s wonderfully versatile!

Chocolate spice cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup unsalted butter or margarine
• 1 1/2 cup sugar (I’ve done batches with only white sugar, only brown, or both mixed. Works fine either way)
• 2 eggs
• 1 tbs molasses (you want table molasses, NOT bootstrap or unsulphured)
• 2 1/4 cups cake/pastry flour
• 1 1/8 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 1 tsp vanilla

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 180°C / 350ºF.
2. Cream butter and sugar until well-mixed
3. Beat in one egg at a time, then add molasses
4. Add in the dry ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon.
5. Optional: If you want to make a chocolate version, add a few spoons of cocoa powder and chocolate chips. Alternatively, you can add nuts, raisins etc for other varieties.
6. Drop spoonfuls onto a greased baking sheet (I prefer to roll a heaped teaspoon of dough and flatten slightly for a smoother cookie surface).
7. Bake for 10 – 12 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. (Okay, eat one while it’s piping hot. They’re delicious!!)
8. Serve with a cold glass of milk, or warm with some ice-cream.

These cookies keep very well if you store them in an air-tight container, with wax paper or paper towel between each layer.