Molasses Spice Cookies

College roommates are great for a lot of things. They’ll lend you clothes and jewelry so you look extra cute for an important party. They’ll sing indie rock and show tune duets with you even though you can’t sing on key. They’ll even go out with you in the pouring rain so you can meet up with a boy you like. (Just make sure you thank your roomie for that at your wedding when you marry that same boy.)

College roommates are also great for introducing you to new recipes – like these cookies, for instance. Until recently, I was convinced I did not like spice cookies even though I love spices in everything else. Perhaps I had a less than tasty specimen when I was a kid. Whatever the reason, spice cookies have never been on my radar. Until now that is, and I have my former college roomie to thank!

These molasses spice cookies are sweet and buttery. They are spice-kissed with a touch of salt. They are soft and chewy with a crunchy sugar coating. Basically, they rock. They are also quite easy to make. Just make sure you leave enough time to let the dough chill in the fridge for a couple of hours. You need that time to let the dough firm up enough to roll it into balls – and to call up your old roommate and thank her again for changing your mind about spice cookies, helping you get together with your future husband, or you know, whatever else you might need to thank her for.

One Year Ago: Roasted Broccoli and Cincinnati Chili

Molasses Spice Cookies
Adapted from college roommate Hillary’s blog, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Fed

Ingredients:
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 large egg
1/4 cup molasses
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/3 cup coarse sugar (decorating sugar or turbinado sugar work well)

Directions:
Using a stand or hand mixer, cream together the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy, then beat in the egg and molasses until everything is well-combined.

In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves.

Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix until thoroughly combined. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

To make the cookies, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet or two with parchment paper.

Roll the dough into 1 1/2-inch balls. Roll the balls in coarse sugar and place them on the prepared baking sheet(s). Leave a couple of inches in between the dough balls so they have room to spread.

Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes. They will be nice and puffy when they come out of the oven and deflate slightly as they cool. Let the cookies cool for 1 minute on the baking sheet and then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes about 40 cookies.

Note: These cookies freeze very well.