Labor Day Weekend
Summer has already come and gone, leaving us this weekend as Labor Day weekend begins. I will be celebrating the long weekend again this year in the great state of pure Michigan. The weekend will bring relaxation, days on the boat and cooking some of my favorite meals. One of my go-tos is an old fashioned shrimp boil - sure to please any number of people - burgers on the grill, corn pudding and an easy last-minute blueberry buckle. I just can’t resist stocking up on jumbo blueberries to bake a weekly buckle when I come across them at the market.
I hope everyone will be celebrating this unofficial end of summer with your favorite recipes and enjoying time with family and friends.
I am so excited to share another longtime favorite recipe with you, as it is the perfect summer, well, anytime treat! My mom’s molasses cookie recipe is a crowd pleaser and can be made and enjoyed any time of year. And to make them even more special, consider adding a scoop of your favorite ice cream in between two cookies for the perfect chewy ice cream sandwich and send off to summer! May I suggest a creamy vanilla custard. Enjoy!
Paula’s Molasses Cookies:
Recipe yields about 4 dozen cookies
1 ½ cups Crisco shortening (must use shortening and not butter)
2 cups granulated sugar
½ cup blackstrap molasses
2 jumbo eggs at room temperature, beaten
4 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
Granulated sugar for rolling cookie dough
In a medium saucepan, melt shortening over medium heat. Turn off heat and cool.
To the melted shortening add sugar, molasses and already beaten eggs. Stir by hand with a wooden spoon.
In a large bowl, whisk together all dry ingredients and add to the molasses mixture. Stir by hand with a wooden spoon until completely mixed.
Chill dough for one hour.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
Using a one inch scoop, scoop dough, roll into a ball and then roll in sugar placing then 2 inches apart on baking sheets.
Bake for 7-8 minutes on the middle oven rack, rotating sheet halfway through baking.
Let cookies cool on baking sheet allowing them to flatten before removing from sheet.
