Sugar-Topped Molasses Spice Cookies

I've been trying to make as many desserts from this cookbook I borrowed from my boss before I have to give it back - but hopefully Santa will return it to me for future baking :)

This past week I made the sugar-topped molasses spice cookies, mainly because they looked delicious, seemed easy, and I had extra molasses in the cabinet from the Bohemian wedding cake I made a few weeks ago.

I highly recommend these cookies for anyone who likes a cookie with a kick. I was intrigued by the use of pepper in them, which I've never used in a cookie before, but an a big fan of now! These cookies are almost like a gingerbread cookie, only more crunchy and spicy. They're great for dunking in milk or with a giant mug of hot cocoa. Ohhhh winter....

Before I give the recipe though, I want to give all you wonderful bakers out there that might actually make these cookies a few tips.

1) Last minute, I realized I didn't have allspice, so handy-dandy Google allowed me to look up a substitute (which I use a lot when I don't have a certain ingredient on hand). Instead of allspice, I used a teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice.

2) Freeze the dough for as long as possible, and work quickly when you take it out. I found that the warmer the dough and my hands got, the more easily the dough stuck to the palms of my hands.

3) Don't flatten them too thin; they spread while baking. My cookies came out a bit too crunchy (but keeping them in an air-tight container keeps them soft, so if this happens to you, stick them in a container and keep a lid on it).

4) The recipe says to use the bottom of a glass to flatten them. This works if you have a glass with a big enough bottom, but unfortunately the bottom of my drinking glasses were tiny. So I used the bottom of my plastic measuring cup. I recommend glass because it sticks less, but if you have to use plastic, make sure you have enough sugar on the bottom to keep from sticking.

There you have it, a few minor problems I ran into, but hopefully none of you will! These cookies are reallly easy to make and so yummy. Enjoy!!

Sugar-Topped Molasses Spice Cookies

Baking From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
pinch cracked or coarsely ground black pepper
3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup molasses (not blackstrap)
1 large egg
1/2 cup sugar, for rolling

Whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, allspice and pepper.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Add the brown sugar and molasses and beat for 2 minutes or so to blend, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the egg and beat for 1 minute more. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients, mixing until the flour and spices disappear. If some flour remains in the bottom of the bowl, to avoid over-beating the dough, mix in the last of the dry ingredients by hand with a rubber spatula. You'll have a smooth, very soft dough.

Divide the dough in half and wrap each piece in plastic wrap. Freeze for 30 minutes, or refrigerate for at least 1 hour. (The dough can be kept refrigerated for up to 4 days.)
Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.Put the sugar in a small bowl.

Working with one packet of dough at a time, divide it into 12 pieces, and roll each piece into a smooth ball between your palms. One by one, roll the balls around in the bowl of sugar , then place them on one of the baking sheets. Dip the bottom of a glass into the sugar and use it to press down on the cookies until they are between 1/4 and 1/2 inch thick.

Bake the cookies one sheet at a time for 12 to 14 minutes, or until the tops feel set to the touch. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and, if the cookies have spread and are touching, use the edge of a metal spatula to separate them while they are still hot.

Transfer the cookies to a rack to cool to room temperature. Repeat with the second batch of dough.Yield: about 24 fairly large cookies (I got a few more)

Storage: The cookies will keep for at least 1 week in the cookie jar. Wrapped airtight, they can be frozen for up to 2 months.

Bohemian Wedding Cake from EatLiveRun

I've been on a bit of a pumpkin kick lately and after coming across a pumpkin spice walnut cake on EatLiveRun's blog, I knew I had to try it. The cake, actually called a Bohemian Wedding Cake, mixes the flavors and textures of pumpkin, walnut, molasses, and spices that come together to form an incredibly moist, rich cake.

The pictures of this dessert just don't do it justice. This might be one of my favorite pumpkin desserts (even above the muffins!), however, one thing I would switch up is the frosting. I used the frosting that EatLiveRun uses, but to be honest, I don't think I let the cake cool enough before applying the frosting (there's me being impatient for ya!). Next time I make it, I might try making two cakes and spreading the a cream cheese frosting in the middle... mmm.

One thing I do love about this dessert is that you don't need a mixer! Just two bowls, some measuring utensils, a wisk, and a giant spoon.

First, mix together your dry ingredients:

Then your wet ingredients:

Then combine them both, mix in those walnuts, and plop it all into a baking pan. You can use whatever kind of pan you want... I used a bunt cake pan, but the blog I got the recipe from used a standard 9-inch cake pan.

I think I would vote this recipe #1 for easiest way to 'wow' family and friends on Thanksgiving. Don't think you can bake? Make this. If you can measure ingredients and mix a batter, you'll have yourself a delicious little dessert for the holidays.

Bohemian Wedding Cake

Dry Ingredients:

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup all purpose flour

1.5 tsp baking soda

2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1/2 tsp salt

Wet Ingredients:

1 15-ounce can pumpkin

1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar

1 cup canola oil

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup molasses

1/2 cup (big handful) roughly chopped walnuts

Preheat your oven to 350 and butter/flour a nine inch cake pan. Set aside.

In a bowl, combine the dry ingredients (flours, pumpkin pie spice, salt and baking soda). Mix well.

In another bowl, whisk together the canola oil, eggs, pumpkin, molasses, brown sugar and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients and stir to combine.

Fold in the walnuts and then pour batter into prepared cake pan. Bake for about fifty minutes, or until the cake starts to pull away from sides of pan. Let cool for ten minutes and then invert on a plate and let cool all the way.

Frost as desired.

Pumpkin Spice Muffins with Cream Cheese Filling

I made Pumpkin Spice Muffins with Cream Cheese filling on Monday, determined to make something pumpkin to celebrate autumn. I found this recipe from a blog called Annie's Eats. These muffins were an absolute HIT with friends, family, and co-workers. They had a moist consistency and the sweet-spicy flavor of the pumpkin and cream cheese combo melt in your mouth. I must admit, they were quite tasty :)

This recipe is actually very easy, but takes a bit of time to prepare. As you'll read in the recipe below, you have to make the filling at least 2 hours in advance so it has time to harden in the freezer. I was surprised by how much filling there was, and decided to make two logs out of it, instead of just one (they were easier to manage this way). I snapped a few pictures along the way to show you how my little logs came out.

I actually left mine in the freezer for a good 24 hours before I actually got around to making the muffins. Hint: Don't take them out of the freezer until you're absolutely ready for them. The cream cheese softens quickly and gets messy.

The mix was crazy simple, just follow the directions below. Dry into wet, you know.

Now this is the secret part of the recipe... your friends and family will most definitely ask you how you got the cream cheese in there, but they don't need to know how incredibly simple it was. You can tell them you slaved over these muffins, stuffing them with cream cheese with just enough so that they didn't explode... you get the drift.

So get out your muffin tins, muffin cups, batter, cheese logs, and topping (which I didn't take a picture of, sorry!) and get to it. This is when you cut your logs up into 24 little pieces - use your best judgment with size. I just cut them about an inch long. Fill the cups with a little bit of batter, place a cream cheese piece in the center, cover her up with more batter, and top that little baby off some sugary goodness (the crumble topping).

There you have it! Now they're ready to be baked.

Warning: You may start to smell a heavenly sweet pumpkin aroma, but please, let them bake the full time and try to control yourself...

And this is what you will come out with :D

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

Yield: 24 muffins
Ingredients:
For the filling:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 cup confectioners’ sugar

For the muffins:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tsp. ground cloves
1 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice (I actually left this ingredient out because I didn't have any on hand, and substituted it with an extra tsp. each of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves)
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
4 large eggs
2 cups sugar
2 cups pumpkin puree
1¼ cups vegetable oil

For the topping:
½ cup sugar
5 tbsp. flour
1½ tsp. ground cinnamon
4 tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Directions:
To prepare the filling, combine the cream cheese and confectioners’ sugar in a medium bowl and mix well until blended and smooth. Transfer the mixture to a piece of plastic wrap and shape into a log about 1½-inches in diameter (your logs will be messy and difficult to smooth into perfectly shaped logs. Don't worry, they go inside the muffin and no one will see them. Just make sure they're log-like). Smooth the plastic wrap tightly around the log, and reinforce with a piece of foil. Transfer to the freezer and chill until at least slightly firm, at least 2 hours.

To make the muffins, preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Line muffin pans with paper liners. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, pumpkin pie spice, salt and baking soda; whisk to blend. In the bowl of an electric mixer combine the eggs, sugar, pumpkin puree and oil. Mix on medium-low speed until blended. With the mixer on low speed, add in the dry ingredients, mixing just until incorporated.

To make the topping, combine the sugar, flour and cinnamon in a small bowl; whisk to blend. Add in the butter pieces and cut into the dry ingredients with a pastry blender or two forks until the mixture is coarse and crumbly (it's going to be tempting, but do not heat the butter. The cold butter adds the crumbles and melts in the oven). Transfer to the refrigerator until ready to use.

To assemble the muffins, fill each muffin well with a small amount of batter, just enough to cover the bottom of the liner (1-2 tablespoons). Slice the log of cream cheese filling into 24 equal pieces. Place a slice of the cream cheese mixture into each muffin well. Divide the remaining batter among the muffin cups, placing on top of the cream cheese to cover completely. Sprinkle a small amount of the topping mixture over each of the muffin wells.

Bake for 20-25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely before serving. (It may be hard to resist immediate consumption, but the cream cheese filling gets very hot!)