Molasses Cookies

I'm not baking this week, myself, nor am I suggesting you should, but someone asked me to share my grandmother's recipe* for molasses cookies, and I thought I should put it here for easier reference, rather than cramming it all into a comment on someone else's blog. Let me know if you try it.

*I have no idea where she got it.

Edited to add: the reason it came up is that the blog post (hi Jennifer!) included mention of baking something with bacon fat! The nice thing about growing up with these cookies is that I knew I loved them long before I knew that bacon fat was involved. Much the same way that I was horrified as a teenager to learn that angel salad includes vinegar, yuck! But my mother pointed out that I loved angel salad, and this was how it was made. Which, yes, but also yuck.

I am folding over the page I have it printed on, to make sure my eyes don't skip down, because the other recipe on the page is for beef stew, and those two would not mix!

Grandma's Molasses Cookies

Note that the amounts are for a half recipe, so it can easily be doubled. 

Also, it does require chilling, so time it accordingly.

MIX TOGETHER:

1/2 cup bacon fat

1/2 cup molasses

1/2 cup sour milk (put 1/2 teaspoon vinegar into 1/2 cup measure, fill with milk, and let sit for at least ten minutes)

2 eggs

1/2 cup brown sugar

SIFT TOGETHER:

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

pinch of nutmeg (or two pinches? to taste, I guess)

1 teaspoon ginger

1/4 teaspoon cloves

3 cups flour (plus 1 tablespoon if dropping cookies instead of rolling them)

Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture in two or three sections, mixing to blend but not overmixing.

Chill (amount of time not specified: maybe an hour?). Heat oven to 400.

Roll out or drop on cookie sheet, sprinkle with sugar, and bake at 400 degrees for 8 to 12 minutes, depending on size. I like big ones, but experiment!