About 10 years ago when Andrew was in 8th grade, he & a friend volunteered at the Thanksgiving Turkey Trot. They needed the volunteer hours for National Junior Honor Society and this was a good way to get some. Andrew & Trace handed out water and t-shirts at the end of the race. They came back to our house afterwards where the rest of our family was busily prepping the dishes we would eat for Thanksgiving dinner the next day. The boys helped out some & hung out and Trace spent the night at our house. When his mom came to pick him up on Thanksgiving morning, she brought us some spice cookies that she and her daughters had made. They were the most heavenly spice cookies we’ve ever had. We ate them up pretty quickly and didn’t save any to share with our guests that were arriving later in the day. Darla passed on the recipe and they have been part of our Thanksgiving tradition ever since.

Spice Cookies

Spice Cookies (adapted from tasteofhome.com)  Makes about 60 cookies

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar + an additional 1/4 cup sugar for rolling
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2  teaspoon ginger
• 1/2  teaspoon cloves
• 1/2 teasoon. salt

Directions:

Cream together the shortening and butter the add in the cup of sugar. Add the egg, beating well. Add the molasses and mix well. Combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves & salt, add it to the creamed mixture & mix well. Chill the dough 4 hours to overnight.

The dough will stay pliable even after refrigeration.

Shape the dough into 1/2 inch balls, then roll them in the 1/4 cup sugar. Place the balls 2″ apart on ungreased baking sheets.

Each 1/2-inch ball gets rolled in additional sugar.

Bake the cookies at 375° for 6 – 8 minutes or until the edges begin to brown, switching the sheets halfway through the baking time. The balls will flatten out as they cook and a bit more as they cool.

Switch the cookie sheets in the oven halfway through the baking time.

Cool the cookies for 2 minutes on the baking sheet then remove them to a wire rack to cool completely. Store the cookies in an airtight container.

Sugar & Spice!

These cookies never last long!  ~Linda

Spice Cookies (adapted from tasteofhome.com)  Makes about 60 cookies

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar + an additional 1/4 cup sugar for rolling
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2  teaspoon ginger
• 1/2  teaspoon cloves
• 1/2 teasoon. salt

Directions:

Cream together the shortening and butter the add in the cup of sugar. Add the egg, beating well. Add the molasses and mix well. Combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves & salt, add it to the creamed mixture & mix well. Chill the dough 4 hours to overnight. Shape the dough into 1/2 inch balls, then roll them in the 1/4 cup sugar. Place the balls 2″ apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake the cookies at 375° for 6 – 8 minutes or until edges begin to brown, switching the sheets halfway through the baking time. The balls will flatten out as they cook and a bit more as they cool. Cool them for 2 minutes on the baking sheet then remove them to a wire rack to cool completely. Store the cookies in an airtight container.