Molasses Sugar Cookie Recipe--The taste of Christmas

Yesterday I could not decide if I wanted to bake Sugar Cookies or Gingerbread (men) cookies.  So I searched recipes and ran across Molasses Sugar Cookies.  I thought "Humm I do have that molasses I bought on accident  instead of maple syrup and we have only used for BBQ sauce"

These Cookies are soo yummy and to me are the epitome of the "taste of Christmas".

Enjoy... let me know if you end up making these and how you like them :)

~Angela
FYI the ingredients are normally the "fatty bad for you" stuff I shy away from.  However these cookies are only 95 calories each so 1 or 2 with a warm cup of coffee or tea in the evening are perfect.  Besides the holidays aren't a time to be "dieting" anyway.  Right?!

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups shortening
• 2 cups white sugar
• 1/2 cup molasses
• 2 eggs
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 4 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Melt the shortening in a large pan on the stove, and cool.
2. Add sugar, eggs, and molasses, beat well.
3. In a separate bowl, sift dry ingredients together and add to the pan. Mix well and chill 3 hours or overnight.
4. Form into walnut-size balls. Roll in granulated sugar. Place on greased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart.
5. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 8-10 minutes.
6. Store in an airtight container to keep from getting overly crisp. If they do lose their softness, an easy way to restore it is to place one slice of fresh bread in the container with the cookies for a couple of hours or overnight and they will be soft again!