Sugar-Topped Molasses Spice Cookies

The urge to bake a batch of cookies struck yesterday evening so I asked my husband what he'd like - but that he should keep in mind my baking cupboard was bare of chocolate save for cocoa (a tragedy, for sure!!).

After thinking on it for a little while, he decided he liked the idea of a spicy gingery cookie - something like a Starbucks product typically offered during the fall.

If you have a decently stocked pantry, you should have everything you need to put these cookies together. They'll make your house smell fabulous and they taste delicious, too.

This cookie is soft and chewy, the sugar adding a bit of a crunch. The flavor is unmistakeably autumn but we enjoyed them just fine here at the end of August! Ginger, cinnamon, allspice and a good coarse grinding of black pepper (even just cracked, if you like the spiciness!) are the main flavor stars but the molasses ties everything together with it's warmth.

Sugar-Topped Molasses Spice Cookies
Makes 24
Bon Appétit

2 1/3 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
pinch (small or not so small ) of cracked or coarsely ground black pepper
3/4 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup molasses (not blackstrap)
1 large egg
granulated white sugar for rolling

Whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, allspice and pepper.

Beat the butter on medium speed until it is smooth and creamy. Add the brown sugar and molasses and beat for 2 minutes or until blended, scraping down the sides as necessary. Add the egg and beat another minute. Add the dry ingredients, mixing until the flour and spices disappear. If there are any dry ingredients remaining at bottom of bowl, do not overbeat the dough and mix them in by hand with a spatula or spoon. The dough will be quite soft and smooth.

Wrap the dough in plastic and chill for an hour or freeze for 30 minutes. You can refrigerate dough for up to 4 days at this point if desired.

Preheat oven to 350F and line baking sheets with parchment or silpat. Place the granulated sugar into a small dish.

Break off pieces of the dough (you should have 24 pieces) and roll each piece into a smooth ball between your hands. Roll the balls into the sugar and place on baking sheet. Dip the bottom of a glass into the sugar and press the cookies down to 1/4-1/2 inch thickness.

Bake 12-14 minutes or until the tops of the cookies feel set. Remove from oven and transfer to rack to cool to room temperature. I sprinkled just a touch of sugar on top of the still warm cookies for aesthetic purpose and added crunch.

Cookies will keep for one week in cookie jar and can be frozen up to 2 months in an airtight container.

Sugar-Topped Molasses Spice Cookies

Martha Stewart's Crisp & Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

One cannot live by one cookie recipe alone.

Or that's what I think now, at least. I used to be on a very serious chocolate chip cookie recipe quest. It was my goal to find the recipe, the recipe that would trump all others and make my cookie jar the one that all the neighborhood kids wanted to dig into.

The Jacques Torres recipe I posted about at Gotta Little Space remains the best recipe I've tried to date; I've made it countless times and it's my go-to recipe for dependable chocolate chip cookies.

However! When I see other chocolate chip cookie recipes, I still glance at them and if I'm interested, I'll give them a try.

Such was the story of these cookies.

Overall, they're a basic chocolate chip cookie. They deliver as promised: crispy edges and chewy centers. Try them straight out of the freezer; in my opinion the flavor and texture improves after a bit of a chill.

Crisp & Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes 20
Martha Stewart

2 3/4 cups flour
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 cups unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cups packed brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

Sift together flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Preheat oven to 350F. Beat butter and sugars on medium high speed till light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.

Beat in eggs 1 at a time. Add vanilla. Reduce speed to low and add in flour mixture. Beat till combined, then mix in chocolate chips.

Drop 3 tablespoons worth of dough onto parchment lined baking sheets, spacing about 2 inches apart. Bake till golden around the edges but still soft in the middle, about 15 minutes.

Let cool on baking sheet 5 minutes then transfer to a rack to cool completely.

Martha Stewart's Crisp & Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Over at Gotta Little Space, I have a 100 Things To Make list. When I first created that list, I asked for suggestions from friends and blog readers. My husband requested peanut butter chocolate chip cookies - and here they are.

I love them. They are just barely peanut buttery and combined with the dark chocolate chips I used, make for a delicious cookie. Their texture is similar to that of a traditional peanut butter cookie - almost crumbly but held together by a bit of chewy.

My husband feels they need more of the peanut butter flavor so the next time I make them I'll be upping the peanut butter content, but I think they're perfect just the way they are.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Recipezaar
Makes 3 to 4 dozen

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups dark chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325F. Line at least 2 baking sheets with parchment.

Cream butter till smooth. Add peanut butter and both sugars; beat until well combined. Add eggs and beat well. Add flour and baking soda gradually till combined. Stir in chocolate chips by hand.

Scoop cookie dough onto parchment lined baking sheets, leaving 2 inches between each cookie. Bake about 15 minutes or until cookies are just firm around the edges - do not overbake or brown the tops, they will be too crunchy. Cool completely on wire racks.

Repeat with remaining dough.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies

It feels as though I'm always on the prowl for a new chocolate chip cookie recipe. This one is good - but we felt as though two teaspoons of coarse salt was a bit much. My husband thought the cookies were too big, I disagree.

The mix of chips and chunks make these cookies decadent.

Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies
Martha Stewart
Makes 24

3 1/2 cups flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons coarse salt
1 1/4 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/4 cups milk chocolate chips
8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped

In a bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugars until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Reduce speed to medium and beat in eggs, one at a time. Beat in vanilla. Mix in the flour mixture until just incorporated, fold in the chocolate chips and chunks.

Using a 1/4 cup scoop, drop dough onto a parchment lined baking sheet (you will have 24). Refrigerate 1 hour. Preheat oven to 350F. Arrange 6 unbaked cookies, 3 inches apart, on each of two parchment lined baking sheets. Bake until edges are light golden brown, 16-18 minutes, rotating halfway. Transfer cookies to a wire rack and let cool.

Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies