These Chewy Molasses Cookies are perfect holiday cookies. They are loaded with warm spices, with just the right hit of sugary icing.
These are not massive cookies. They are dangerously bite size, the cookie chewy with the icing forming a pleasant sweet crunch.
Note that the dough needs to be made ahead of time so that it can chill for at least an hour, but up to a few days is fine. You can also freeze the dough, if desired.
Modified from Centennial Kitchen Fall Baking 2021.
These cookies are the epitome of holiday flavor, hearty, warming, with just the right hit of sweetness. Note that the dough needs to chill prior to baking. Modified from Centennial Kitchen Fall Baking 2021.
Course: Dessert, Snack
Keyword: cookies
Servings: 43
Author: Beth Cato
Equipment
small cookie scoop or spoon
parchment paper
spoon
Ingredients
Cookies
3/4cupunsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks) softened
1cupbrown sugar packed
1/3cupmolasses
1large egg room temperature
2 1/2cupsall-purpose flour
2teaspoonsbaking soda
2teaspoonspumpkin pie spice
1/2teaspoonsalt
Icing
1 1/2cupsconfectioners’ sugar
1/2teaspoonclear vanilla extract
3Tablespoonshalf & halfor milk
Instructions
In a large bowl, beat together the butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Add the molasses and egg.
Gradually mix in the flour, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. Make sure everything is combined. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for anywhere from an hour to a few days.
Preheat oven at 325 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
Use a small cookie scoop or spoon to dole out dough onto pan. Flatten each ball slightly; they won’t spread much.
Bake for 10-11 minutes, until set with a crackling top. Let cool a couple of minutes, then transfer to a rack to completely cool.
Once the cookies are cool, combined the icing ingredients. Glaze should be thick but spreadable. Coat the back of a spoon and transfer that to the top of a cookie, spreading to evenly coat. Cover cookies until icing is used up; the amounts should be a close match. Let them set for an hour for the icing to solidify, then pack into a sealed container.
Whether you are coping with cold weather right now or psychologically easing into winter (something I know well from my time in Arizona), these Earl Grey Shortbread Bars will make you feel warm and cozy. Also, caffeinated.
These bars are dense, soft, and a touch crumbly, the flavor of warm spice throughout. The drizzle of glaze adds sweetness and prettiness.
The tea flavor is quite strong here–it actually seemed to get bolder after a day–so the 1/4 cup amount is best made for people who like Earl Grey. I used Bigelow bags, but the amount of tea likely varies across brands. If you want a milder flavor, use less tea.
Soft, chewy texture and warm spices makes these shortbread bars a perfect treat!
Course: Breakfast, Dessert, Snack
Keyword: bars, tea
Author: Beth Cato
Equipment
9×13 pan
spice grinder or mortar and pestle
wax paper or plastic wrap
heavy glass or other weight
piping bag or freezer bag
Ingredients
Dough
1/4cupEarly Grey tea leaves about 4-5 Bigelow bags
4cupsall-purpose flour
1/2teaspoonsalt
2cupsunsalted butter (4 sticks) room temperature
2 1/2cupsconfectioners’ sugar
2teaspoonsvanilla extract
Glaze
1cupconfectioners’ sugar
1 1/2Tablespoonsmilk or half & half
Instructions
Preheat oven at 350 degrees. Line a 9×13 baking pan with aluminum foil and apply nonstick spray or butter.
Use a spice grinder or a mortar and pestle to grind the Earl Grey leaves down a bit more, but not fully to powder. Move the tea to a medium bowl and stir with the flour and salt.
In a large bowl, beat the butter until fluffy. Gradually add the confectioners’ sugar, followed by the vanilla. Beat until smooth. Gradually beat in the flour mixture to incorporate.
Dollop the dough into the prepared pan. Use a piece of wax paper or plastic wrap to spread out the dough, then use something like a heavy glass to evenly compress the dough into the pan.
Bake until shortbread is firm with golden edges, about 40 to 45 minutes. Cool in pan on rack.
After the pan comes to room temperature, mix the glaze ingredients. Transfer them to a piping bag or to a freezer bag. Snip the corner to pipe the glaze in stripes over the pan. Let set for an hour, then use foil to lift contents onto a cutting board to slice into bars.
Store in sealed container at room temperature. Bars will keep for an least 2 days.
This Raspberry Frangipane takes a little work, but the result is gorgeous and absolutely delicious. This is a great special occasion treat–and it’s easy to make a day ahead!
Layer cakes get a lot of the attention and fuss, but I think loaf cakes need more love. They can be stunning, too. This one certainly is. It contains homemade frangipane, one of my favorite things, and is convenient to make year-round by using frozen raspberries.
As this loaf does involve some labor, I found it simplified things to prepare it over two days. Day 1: make frangipane and chill it. Day 2: make loaf and glaze. Day 3: serve to my husband’s co-workers.
I found the cake kept beautifully, wrapped, for up to 4 days after baking.
Frangipane can be made immediately before the batter or prepared a day in advance.
In a medium bowl, stir butter until creamy. Add almond flour, sugar, all-purpose flour, egg white, salt, and almond extract. Stir until combined. Cover with plastic wrap pressed to the top, and place in fridge until ready to use.
Loaf
Preheat oven at 375 degrees. Cut parchment paper to fit inside an 8×4 loaf pan like a sling extended up both long sides. Spray inside of pan with nonstick spray, then spray parchment.
Use kitchen shears to break frozen raspberries into pieces of various size, measuring out 1 1/4 cup total. Stash raspberries back in freezer until ready to use.
In a large bowl, beat together butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time followed by the extracts.
In another bowl, sift together the 1 3/4 cups flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually mix dry ingredients into the wet, mixing alternatively with the yogurt. Scrape the bottom of the bowl to make sure everything is combined.
Fold the frangipane into the batter.
Pull out the raspberries. Toss them with the remaining tablespoon of flour. Set aside 1/4 of coated berries for the top; fold the rest of the berries into the batter.
Spread batter in prepared pan, evening out the top. Sprinkle reserved raspberries on top, followed by the sliced almonds.
Bake for 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees. Continue to bake until the top is golden and the inside registers an interior temperature over 200 degrees, which will be about another 40 minutes. (Total baking time will be between 55 minutes and 1 hour 5 minutes.) If the loaf is looking brown early on, cover with a small piece of foil.
Let cool in pan about 20 minutes, then use the parchment sling to lift the loaf onto a rack to completely cool.
Glaze
Once the loaf is completely cool, mix the glaze. It should be fairly thick; add a touch more confectioners’ sugar if needed. Drizzle over loaf so that the top is covered with glaze dripping down the sides.
Give the glaze at least 30 minutes to set before cutting into the loaf, or wrap loaf to serve later or the next day. Loaf will keep well, wrapped at room temperature, for up to 4 days.
This recipe for a Big Batch Sugar Cookies and Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies makes it easy to get two kinds of cookies in one batch. It makes about 90 total cookies!
One thing to keep in mind: there is such a huge quantity of dough, stirring it can be tricky. Use your biggest bowl. I did a lot of the mixing in my KitchenAid, then had to finish stirring my hand.
The foundation of this recipe is a classic sugar cookie. Soft, sweet, and crumbly. That base is fantastic with additional chocolate. Do note that mini chips are a must here, because the dough is so crumbly.
Bready or Not Original: Big Batch Sugar Cookies and Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies
Split this big batch of dough to get both sugar cookies and chocolate chip cookies. Note that mini chocolate chips are a must, as the dough is crumbly. Give the dough time to chill, or freeze it to make even later. Makes about 90 total cookies.
Course: Dessert, Snack
Cuisine: American
Keyword: chocolate, cookies
Servings: 90cookies
Author: Beth Cato
Equipment
cookie scoop or spoon
food scale
Ingredients
1cupunsalted butter (2 sticks) softened
1cupvegetable oil
1cupwhite sugar
1cupconfectioners’ sugar
2large eggs room temperature
1teaspoonvanilla extract
4 1/2cupall-purpose flour
1teaspoonbaking soda
1teaspooncream of tartar
1cupmini chocolate chips
Instructions
In a large bowl, beat together the butter, oil, and sugars. Add the eggs and vanilla. In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and cream of tartar. Gradually beat the dry ingredients into the wet. This will be a lot of dough; if an electric mixer was being used, it may be necessary to switch to stirring by hand.
Use a food scale to divide the dough in half. Place one half back in the bowl. Remove a small handful, transferring that to the other portion. Add the mini chocolate chips to the bowl and stir to combine.
Wrap each portion of dough in plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours, or up to 3 days. Freeze if it needs to be baked beyond that time frame.
Preheat oven at 375 degrees. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Use a cookie scoop or spoon to portion out the dough. The chocolate chip kind will need to be compressed slightly to make it cohesive.
Bake for 9 to 11 minutes, until cookies are set and tinted golden. Set on a rack to cool, and then place in sealed containers at room temperature.