Anyone who recently watched a Food Network (don’t you just love the Food Network?!) show this week, saw one of my favorite hosts give a recipe for ginger cookies.  Well……………. my mom’s recipe for Molasses/Ginger Cookies is about 70 years old.  She was making these cookie way before I was born.  So I’m guessing it was around before Ina’s recipe.  But, no problem.  They are both delicious!  (I really prefer my mom’s recipe.)  I was surprised to see how similar the recipes were.

  If you only try one recipe this summer, try this one.  It’s very easy.  No fancy equipment needed.

  I can remember making these cookies when I was very young, maybe 5 or 6 years old?  My job was to roll the balls of cookie dough in sugar.  Then mom would place the sugar-coated balls on a cookie sheet and pop them into the oven.  The smell of the spices would fill the kitchen!  Somehow, my brothers and little sister would end up in the kitchen from what ever part of the house they were playing in.  Just in time for a taste!  Hummmmm?  Wonder why?  Bake just one batch of these cookies and you will understand!

So here goes!  I promised this recipe to you back in January!  Trust me, these cookies taste wonderful any time of the year! 

Ruthie’s Molasses/Ginger Cookies:

In a large mixing bowl, combine 3/4 cup of canola oil or vegetable oil.  Add1 cup, (packed) dark brown sugar, 1/4 cup  molasses, 1 large egg.  Beat all until well combined.

Add: 2 cups all purpose flour,2 teaspoons baking soda,1/2 teaspoon ground cloves, 1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger (or ground ginger works well) 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.  Mix well. Chill dough 2 hours or freeze the well wrapped dough until ready to use.

To bake: Set oven at 350 degrees

Take well chilled dough and form into 1 inch size balls.  Roll balls in granulated sugar to coat. ( I place about a cup of sugar in a medium size bowl and place 5 or 6 balls in the bowl and swirl them around to coat.) Place the coated balls on a parchment lined baking sheet.  Bake tray for 8 to 10 minutes at 350 degrees.  The cookies should just be “set” and the cookies will  ‘crack’ on top where the sugar is.  Yummmmmm!

Make approx. 24 cookies

Happy Baking!

(Thanks mom for the memories!)

Happy 4th of July!

  I love the 4th of July!  Fireworks and picnics, get out the lawn chairs and wait ….(what seems like forever) for the fireworks to begin. 

This year I am going  to fireworks celebrations Fri. and Sat. (maybe even Sun. somewhere?)  Can’t wait for that first ear-shattering……BOOM!  Then it begins!  Sometimes 20 minutes, sometimes 1 hour of “open your eyes and turn on the party lights in the sky“.

One of my very favorite July 4th  memories is a yearly party with the Swemm family.  Kerrie Swemm was my very dear childhood friend and our families would meet near the American Legion Post in my hometown of Danville.  There was always wonderful picnic food; grilled hotdogs, red potato salad and  garden fresh tomatoes from my dads garden.  Then there was the desserts!   On one end of the food table lay a massive amount of all things sweet and tasty.  I remember the pies; berry, apple and lemon.  Also, my moms famous blond brownies and a sheet cake iced with homemade buttercream iced to look like the flag; red, white and blue.   Then there were the cookies!  Chocolate chip, molasses and ginger, peanut butter, and of course sugar cookies.  I helped make the sugar cookies. (go figure?)  My job was to sprinkle red or blue sparkling sugar onto the cut out cookies.  Then my mom would pop them into the oven and we would wait.  12 minute later………joy and happiness!  Cookies!  We could each have just one cookie before the picnic. Guess which one I wanted?

I remember all of this like it was last week……….can it really be over 30 years ago?  My mom no longer bakes so I carry on the cookie tradition for her.  So here’s to you mom (and dad).  Happy 4thof July!  Enjoy the fireworks tomorrow! I love you both!

Happy Baking!