A non-business, personal post.

This was a family favorite growing up. My paternal grandmother, Agnes Boeckenstedt (1887–1981) made molasses cookies that were a local favorite, based on comments my father made. She had ten kids, and would apparently make these a gross (a dozen dozen, or 144) at a time. I seem to recall all my cousins loved them too. I know my late brother did…he once paid my aunt to make some and ship them to him.

Grandma didn’t use a recipe, but her daughters learned how to make them, and my cousin managed to get the recipe from them. They are a soft, somewhat dry cookie when made properly, and they are sort of like the Latka Gravas cookie from Taxi: Once you start it’s hard to stop eating them.

The recipe came to me just as ingredients and quantities, and it helped that I once helped my aunt Rose Agnes make them. So I present the recipe below, with my comments in italics. If you’re an experienced baker, you might want to override my amateur attempts and uninformed tactics.

Grandma Boeckenstedt’s Molasses Cookies
2 cups of brown sugar, packed
1 cup of lard (you can use bacon grease or Crisco if lard makes you skittish)
1 cup of sour milk (I used buttermilk)
1 cup of molasses
3 eggs (or egg whites..it’s not clear…I used eggs)
3 tsp of baking soda dissolved in hot water
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
6 to 8 cups of sifted flour

That’s all I have. Here’s how I made them. Again, experienced bakers can chime in to help me where I might have made rookie mistakes.

Mix the wet ingredients until well blended, and add the ginger, cinnamon, and salt. Slowly start to add the flour, a half cup at a time to start, until the mixture stiffens. Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate at least two hours.

Roll out the dough on a well-floured work space to about 1/4 inch think. (Note: I used the full 8 cups of flour, and this was still sort of wet and sticky. It was hard to work with but manageable…still, I worried about using too much flour on the roll out.) Cut in circles (I used a mason jar ring) and bake on a greased cookie sheet about 20-23 minutes at 350. Cookies are done when they rise and are resistant to pressure on the edges. Move to a rack and cool.

Icing
The recipe I got simply says:

1 egg white
1 tsp Crisco
Vanilla
Powdered sugar

I suppose that’s enough for experienced bakers, but I wasn’t sure, so I used this recipe

2 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1 pinch kosher salt
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
2-2 ½ tablespoons heavy cream
gel food coloring (optional)

Instructions
• Combine powdered sugar, corn syrup, salt, and vanilla in a large bowl.
• Start by adding 1 tablespoon cream and whisk. (A wisk got clogged so I used a fork).Slowly add more cream a few drops at a time, whisking after each addition. If you add too much cream, add a bit more confectioner’s sugar and whisk.
• In order to get a completely opaque white icing with this recipe, you will need to add white gel food coloring. A little goes a long way, but it will add just enough opacity so you can’t see the cookie underneath. (I could not find white food coloring, so I skipped this.)

The result? I’m very happy with the result, and thrilled with the memories of grandma’s cookies.