Sugar and Spice Cookies

I promised a few sweets this week!  This one is one of my go-to recipes for things like cookie exchanges and assortments for goodie baskets.  They are simple (simple enough for me, even!) and as fast to make as some of the more traditional recipes like peanut butter cookies.


These cookies were always a part of Christmas baking when I was growing up. I still make this recipe every year, and one of the reasons I love it is that it’s not one you see everywhere.  These cookies are chewy, with molasses, cinnamon, and clove.

I have put my own spin on these cookies since this recipe was passed down from my Gram.  She always rolled the cookies in powdered sugar, which is much more classic, but I enjoy making them look festive in red. :)

1 c. sugar
1 egg
3/4 c. shortening
1/4 c. molasses


Cream these ingredients together, and sift together the following dry ingredients:


1/4 tsp. clove
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
2 c. flour
2 tsp. baking soda


Add your dry ingredients to your wet mixture.  If you’re not as impatient as I am, you should chill your dough for 30 minutes.  Your cookies will be “puffier” if you do – mine come out quite flat (as you can see from the photo) without chilling the dough.


I make my cookies small, about 1 Tbsp. of dough per cookie.  Roll into a ball, and roll in sugar (I use red, but you could use powdered sugar like my gram always did, or a coarse white sugar – anything you like!)  I also only bother rolling the top half of the cookie in the sugar, since it will spread when it bakes and you won’t see the bottom half anyway.


Bake on a parchment-lined sheet for about 8 minutes.  Enjoy the smell of Christmas kitchen, mmmm. :)  That’s it!


These were just one of the goodies I added to a tray for Raya’s day care room:

You’ll spot some Oreo Pops in there too (I think I’m addicted to making those things since seeing them on Mrs. Fox’s Sweets’ blog), and the jars in the center are some cupcakes-in-a-jar.  The little white snowflakes are peppermint bark I made in my new molds (SO easy – and a great way to use up those leftover candy canes next week!)


So there’s a bit of kitchen success to share!  (You know that’s where I struggle!)  I had my share of failures this year too, and I am finally ready to laugh about it – so I have a fail-post to share with you all tomorrow morning… just to keep it real. :)