Ma Horton’s Molasses Cookies

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With the first cool snap of the season, I made Ma Horton’s Molasses Cookies. I’m resharing this recipe with you this week because we have so many new members who may have missed it last year. It has been one of your favorites! Please feel free to share. Now, Go make some warm, delicious Ma Horton’s Molasses Cookies and enjoy!

Ma Horton’s Molasses Cookies Recipe is one of the most treasured in our family. Last time I shared a cookie recipe, it was her sugar cookie recipe. I think I told you then that her house always smelled  like cookies and coffee. My mother told me that one of her favorite memories as a child, was going to Ma Horton’s house because she would say, “Go look in the pantry and get you a cookie.” She always had sugar cookies and molasses cookies made. Since they made their own molasses, it was an ingredient that she always had on hand.  Ma Horton taught my grandmother this recipe and my grandmother taught me, now I’m going to share it with you.

Before we get going with the recipe, I wanted to share something with you. Our great-grandmothers and for most of my grandmothers’ lives, there wasn’t any question about the purity of their ingredients. Your recipes don’t taste like your grandmothers’ because of the difference in the food supply.

In the recipe, you will notice I say things like organic flour, real salt, coconut oil, organic butter, natural baking soda, things of that nature. Of course, these are not the ingredients my great-grandmother used. These are the ingredients that I use to get the equivalents of the ingredients she had. 

Some people don’t like the taste of molasses cookies. They do have a very distinctive taste. I think it may be the ginger in them that people don’t really like. As for me, it’s not only the memories that make them good, but I enjoy the flavor, especially with a pot of coffee…Yum! So put on a pot of coffee, make your own batch of Ma Horton’s molasses cookies, and enjoy the warmth that fills your home.

Ma Horton’s Molasses Cookies

4 cups organic, non-gmo flour

1/2 teaspoon real salt    

2 teaspoons natural baking soda

4 1/2 teaspoons organic cinnamon

2 teaspoons ground organic ginger

1 1/2 cups molasses

1/2 cup lard (organic) or coconut oil, melted 

1/4 cup organic butter, melted

5 tablespoons hot water

Organic, non-gmo sugar for sprinkling tops of cookies

1) Preheat oven to 425

2) In a large bowl, mix all the dry ingredients together with a wooden spoon. 

3) When well blended, poor in the melted  oil, butter, and the molasses and mix well.  Now add the hot water and mix well again.

4) Let the dough rest in your bowl for one full hour. This is a very important step so don’t shorten the time.

5) After the hour is up, take out a small portion, I usually do one fifth of the dough at a time. Using a rolling pin, roll it out to between 1/8″ to 1/4 ” thick (I go closer to 1/8″).

6) Cut the cookies into round shapes. You can use a cookie-cutter, a jar lid, or a glass. Any dough left over after cutting, I roll up and add to the next portion. The last piece from the final portion gets shaped by hand and baked. We don’t waste any of this delicious dough…except for what I eat! 🙂

7) Place the cookie on a parchment lined cookie tray and sprinkle tops with sugar. Bake at 425° for seven minutes.  Remove to cooling rack for cooling and enjoy!

TIPS:

• This recipe makes about 30 cookies. It is easily doubled to make a larger batch
• For thicker cookies, don’t roll out as thin
• You don’t need to flour your surface to roll them out. The oil and molasses keeps them from sticking to the surface. Adding extra flour will change the texture of the cookie
• Be careful not to over bake, they burn easily

When I was a young mother and made these cookies for my sons, I thought I knew better than my grandmother so I skipped the one-hour waiting….Boy did I make a mess. I learned my lesson. The one-hour waiting allows the baking soda to do its job and for the ingredients to set together well. You’ll laugh at my cookie-cutter when I tell you  that I use the ring to one of my canning jars to cut my cookies.

I know many of you have been really looking forward to this recipe and I’m so happy about that. Ma Horton would be too! I hope you and your family enjoy these cookies over the holidays.

The next recipe of hers that I will be sharing is her chocolate pie recipe. It is velvety smooth and oh so chocolatey. My Aunt Helen became the queen chocolate pie maker in our family and she taught me.

If you enjoy these old fashioned recipes, please share. Remember, I am always here to help you along on your journey, in any way I can. You can use the Contact Me page to reach me personally.

Safe and Happy Journey

Rhonda and The Pack

 This post is shared on Simple Life Sunday and Homestead Blog Hop  and Simple Lives Thursday and Tasty Tuesday Linkup