52 Cookies - Chapter 32

Last month, while we were on vacation, Evan asked me if we were going to celebrate Christmas in July when we got home.  I asked him where on earth he had gotten that idea from.  Apparently, some car dealership down in South Carolina was having a Christmas in July sale and Evan kept seeing their commercials on TV!  I set him straight that even if we were going to celebrate Christmas in July, that our vacation was more than enough of a present for the five of us.

This week, our house smelled like Christmas.  That's what Evan said anyway on the day I baked this week's cookie.  And he was right; the house did smell like Christmas.  And as hot as it has been, I could actually go for a little Christmas weather!  No, no.  I did not just say that.  I dread winter.

So, I pulled this recipe from a cookbook that country singer Trisha Yearwood published a couple of years ago along with her sister called "Georgia Cooking in an Oklahoma Kitchen."  It's a fun cookbook with little anecdotes about where the different family favorite recipes come from.  Whether it be her husband Garth Brooks' favorite German chocolate cake or her Uncle Wilson's baked onions - there are some cute stories to be read along with trying out some good old down-home recipes.  Those are truly my favorites.

Cinnamon Cookies
Here's What You'll Need:
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon ginger
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup molasses
1 egg

Here's What You Do:
Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves and ginger in a small bowl.  In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and 1 cup of sugar.  Slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture.  Mix in the molasses and the egg.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and stick it in the fridge for about an hour so the dough can firm up.  Tend to your laundry.  Clean a bathroom or two.  Stop your children from killing each other.  Do whatever you must to pass the time.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line your cookie sheets with parchment paper.  This is one of those cookies that you really, REALLY want to have one of those small cookie dough scoops for.  Scoop out some dough, roll it in the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar and place the sugar-coated dough balls on the cookie sheet about 2 inches apart.  These cookies spread quite a bit.  Bake in the oven for about 10 minutes.  Let them cool briefly on the pan, then remove to a wire rack.

Now, I got about 4 dozen of these cookies and I thought they were decent sized.  Trisha says this recipe makes just 2 dozen.  Of course, the recipe also says to back for 20 minutes and my head nearly exploded when I saw that!  No way.  Twenty minutes and the local township fire department would have been paying me a visit.

These cookies are so yummy and chewy and if you are into drinking coffee or tea, I think these would make for a very nice little coffee break.  Then my mind starts working.  I'm always looking for an angle to include chocolate.  After all, I've always said, 'If I could put chocolate in meatloaf, I would!'  So you take one cookie, give it a little schmear of Nutella, then sandwich another cookie on top of that.  Mmmm.  I think I know what I'm having for a snack later.  I never really liked science, but I do like to experiment!

Teaser...be sure to check back next week when I feature a guest on my blog In The Kitchen!