Molasses Spice Cookies with Dark Rum Glaze
By America's Test KitchenPublished on August 22, 2007
Time
1½ hours, plus 20 minutes cooling
Yield
Makes about 22 cookies
Ingredients
⅓ cup granulated sugar (about 2 ½ ounces/71 grams), plus ½ cup for dipping2 ¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour (11 ¼ ounces/319 grams)1 teaspoon baking soda 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon 1 ½ teaspoons ground ginger ½ teaspoon ground cloves ¼ teaspoon ground allspice ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper ¼ teaspoon table salt 12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 ½ sticks), softened but still cool⅓ cup dark brown sugar (about 2 ½ ounces/71 grams)1 large egg yolk 1 teaspoon vanilla extract ½ cup molasses (about 6 ounces/170 grams), light or dark
For Glaze
1 cup confectioners' sugar (about 4 ½ ounces/128 grams)2 ½ - 3 tablespoons dark rumBefore You Begin
Measure the molasses in a liquid measuring cup. If you find that the dough sticks to your palms as you shape the balls, moisten your hands occasionally in a bowl filled with cold water and shake off the excess. Bake the cookies one sheet at a time. If baked two sheets at a time, the cookies started on the bottom rack won’t develop the attractive cracks. The cookies should look slightly raw and underbaked when removed from the oven.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Place 1/2 cup sugar for dipping in 8- or 9-inch cake pan.
- Whisk flour, baking soda, spices, and salt in medium bowl until thoroughly combined; set aside.
- In standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat butter with brown and granulated sugars at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to medium-low and add yolk and vanilla; increase speed to medium and beat until incorporated, about 20 seconds. Reduce speed to medium-low and add molasses; beat until fully incorporated, about 20 seconds, scraping bottom and sides of bowl once with rubber spatula. Reduce speed to lowest setting; add flour mixture and beat until just incorporated, about 30 seconds, scraping bowl down once. Give dough final stir with rubber spatula to ensure that no pockets of flour remain at bottom. Dough will be soft.
- Using tablespoon measure, scoop heaping tablespoon of dough and roll between palms into 11/2-inch ball; drop ball into cake pan with sugar and repeat to form about 4 balls. Toss balls in sugar to coat and set on prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart. Repeat with remaining dough. Bake 1 sheet at a time until cookies are browned, still puffy, and edges have begun to set but centers are still soft (cookies will look raw between cracks and seem underdone), about 11 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through baking. Do not overbake.
- Cool cookies on baking sheet 5 minutes, then use wide metal spatula to transfer cookies to wire rack; cool cookies to room temperature. When completely cool, return cookies to cooled parchment-lined baking sheets. Whisk confectioners' sugar and 2 1/2 tablespoons dark rum in medium bowl until smooth. If the glaze is too thick to drizzle, whisk in additional tablespoon rum. Dip spoon into glaze and then move spoon over cookies so that glaze drizzles down onto them; repeat as necessary. Transfer cookies to wire rack and allow glaze to dry, 10 to 15 minutes.
Time
1½ hours, plus 20 minutes coolingYield
Makes about 22 cookiesIngredients
⅓ cup granulated sugar (about 2 ½ ounces/71 grams), plus ½ cup for dipping
2 ¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour (11 ¼ ounces/319 grams)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 ½ teaspoons ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon ground allspice
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon table salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 ½ sticks), softened but still cool
⅓ cup dark brown sugar (about 2 ½ ounces/71 grams)
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup molasses (about 6 ounces/170 grams), light or dark
For Glaze
1 cup confectioners' sugar (about 4 ½ ounces/128 grams)
2 ½ - 3 tablespoons dark rum
Ingredients
⅓ cup granulated sugar (about 2 ½ ounces/71 grams), plus ½ cup for dipping
2 ¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour (11 ¼ ounces/319 grams)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 ½ teaspoons ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon ground allspice
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon table salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 ½ sticks), softened but still cool
⅓ cup dark brown sugar (about 2 ½ ounces/71 grams)
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup molasses (about 6 ounces/170 grams), light or dark
For Glaze
1 cup confectioners' sugar (about 4 ½ ounces/128 grams)
2 ½ - 3 tablespoons dark rum
Ingredients
⅓ cup granulated sugar (about 2 ½ ounces/71 grams), plus ½ cup for dipping
2 ¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour (11 ¼ ounces/319 grams)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 ½ teaspoons ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon ground allspice
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon table salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 ½ sticks), softened but still cool
⅓ cup dark brown sugar (about 2 ½ ounces/71 grams)
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup molasses (about 6 ounces/170 grams), light or dark
For Glaze
1 cup confectioners' sugar (about 4 ½ ounces/128 grams)
2 ½ - 3 tablespoons dark rum
Why This Recipe Works
Our ideal molasses cookie recipe would produce a charmingly crackled and crinkled cookie with an uncommonly moist, chewy interior and a spicy flavor with undertones of dark, bittersweet molasses. To make this molasses cookie recipe a reality, we started with all-purpose flour and used butter rather than shortening for full, rich flavor. The precise right amounts of molasses, brown sugar, vanilla, and spices gave us the flavor we wanted. Taking the cookies out of the oven when they looked underdone gave our molasses cookies the chewiness we required.
Before You Begin
Measure the molasses in a liquid measuring cup. If you find that the dough sticks to your palms as you shape the balls, moisten your hands occasionally in a bowl filled with cold water and shake off the excess. Bake the cookies one sheet at a time. If baked two sheets at a time, the cookies started on the bottom rack won’t develop the attractive cracks. The cookies should look slightly raw and underbaked when removed from the oven.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Place 1/2 cup sugar for dipping in 8- or 9-inch cake pan.
- Whisk flour, baking soda, spices, and salt in medium bowl until thoroughly combined; set aside.
- In standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat butter with brown and granulated sugars at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to medium-low and add yolk and vanilla; increase speed to medium and beat until incorporated, about 20 seconds. Reduce speed to medium-low and add molasses; beat until fully incorporated, about 20 seconds, scraping bottom and sides of bowl once with rubber spatula. Reduce speed to lowest setting; add flour mixture and beat until just incorporated, about 30 seconds, scraping bowl down once. Give dough final stir with rubber spatula to ensure that no pockets of flour remain at bottom. Dough will be soft.
- Using tablespoon measure, scoop heaping tablespoon of dough and roll between palms into 11/2-inch ball; drop ball into cake pan with sugar and repeat to form about 4 balls. Toss balls in sugar to coat and set on prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart. Repeat with remaining dough. Bake 1 sheet at a time until cookies are browned, still puffy, and edges have begun to set but centers are still soft (cookies will look raw between cracks and seem underdone), about 11 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through baking. Do not overbake.
- Cool cookies on baking sheet 5 minutes, then use wide metal spatula to transfer cookies to wire rack; cool cookies to room temperature. When completely cool, return cookies to cooled parchment-lined baking sheets. Whisk confectioners' sugar and 2 1/2 tablespoons dark rum in medium bowl until smooth. If the glaze is too thick to drizzle, whisk in additional tablespoon rum. Dip spoon into glaze and then move spoon over cookies so that glaze drizzles down onto them; repeat as necessary. Transfer cookies to wire rack and allow glaze to dry, 10 to 15 minutes.
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