Moravian Spice Cookies
By America's Test KitchenPublished on October 24, 2014
Yield
Makes about 60 cookies
Ingredients
1 ¾ cups (8 ¾ ounces/248 grams) all-purpose flour ¼ cup packed (1 ¾ ounce/50 grams) light brown sugar 2 teaspoons ground ginger 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon ½ teaspoon ground allspice ½ teaspoon baking soda ⅜ teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon ground cloves 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch squares and chilled6 tablespoons molasses
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Process flour, sugar, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, baking soda, salt, and cloves in food processor until combined, about 5 seconds. Scatter butter over top and process until sandy, about 30 seconds. Add molasses and process until dough forms, about 1 minute longer. Divide dough into 3 pieces, form each piece into disk, wrap disks in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Roll 1 disk of dough 1/16 inch thick between 2 pieces of parchment paper, gathering and rerolling scraps once and rechilling dough if it becomes sticky. Using 2 1/2-inch fluted round cutter, cut dough into rounds; space rounds 1/2 inch apart on prepared sheets. Bake, 1 sheet at a time, until cookies are firm when pressed gently and edges are just beginning to color, about 10 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking. Let cookies cool on sheet for 5 minutes, then slide cookies, still on parchment, onto wire rack. Repeat with remaining dough. Let cookies cool completely before serving.
Yield
Makes about 60 cookiesIngredients
1 ¾ cups (8 ¾ ounces/248 grams) all-purpose flour
¼ cup packed (1 ¾ ounce/50 grams) light brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground allspice
½ teaspoon baking soda
⅜ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch squares and chilled
6 tablespoons molasses
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
1 ¾ cups (8 ¾ ounces/248 grams) all-purpose flour
¼ cup packed (1 ¾ ounce/50 grams) light brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground allspice
½ teaspoon baking soda
⅜ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch squares and chilled
6 tablespoons molasses
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
1 ¾ cups (8 ¾ ounces/248 grams) all-purpose flour
¼ cup packed (1 ¾ ounce/50 grams) light brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground allspice
½ teaspoon baking soda
⅜ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch squares and chilled
6 tablespoons molasses
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
With roots deep in Eastern Europe, these thin, crisp, spiced cookies have made a name for themselves in the United States due to the Moravian Church settlements in North Carolina and Pennsylvania. The trickiest part about this recipe is rolling the sticky dough incredibly thin. Instead of creaming soft butter, we use a food processor to add cold butter to the dry ingredients to keep the dough manageable. Take care not to overbake these cookies, or they will taste slightly bitter.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Process flour, sugar, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, baking soda, salt, and cloves in food processor until combined, about 5 seconds. Scatter butter over top and process until sandy, about 30 seconds. Add molasses and process until dough forms, about 1 minute longer. Divide dough into 3 pieces, form each piece into disk, wrap disks in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Roll 1 disk of dough 1/16 inch thick between 2 pieces of parchment paper, gathering and rerolling scraps once and rechilling dough if it becomes sticky. Using 2 1/2-inch fluted round cutter, cut dough into rounds; space rounds 1/2 inch apart on prepared sheets. Bake, 1 sheet at a time, until cookies are firm when pressed gently and edges are just beginning to color, about 10 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking. Let cookies cool on sheet for 5 minutes, then slide cookies, still on parchment, onto wire rack. Repeat with remaining dough. Let cookies cool completely before serving.
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