Christmas cookies… I just can’t seem to get enough this year! I had no doubts that Catherine McCord, creator of the amazing family food blog Weelicious, would have a creative, crowd-pleasing take on them, and I’m so thrilled that she’s stopped by to share in our next installment of 12 Tastes of Christmas. (And for a glimpse of Catherine’s gorgeous LA home and how she entertains at home, don’t miss our Entertaining With Catherine McCord feature from earlier this year… one of my faves!) Thanks for stopping by, Catherine!
One of my most vivid holiday memories from childhood is of making cookies with my mom. Every year, we’d pull out gallon-sized bags of sugar and get down to the business of making and decorating sugar cookies. As far as I was concerned, there was nothing better than sorting through our collection of holiday cookie cutters to find my favorite shapes, rolling out the dough and stamping out the dough to lay on cookie sheets. But as delicious as sugar cookies may be, I must admit that making the same version year after year can get a little ho-hum. So this year, the kids and I are changing things up by making these molasses roll-out cookies.
These cookies are insanely delicious — I actually hide them from my husband so he doesn’t eat them all — and the dough is really durable so you can keep rolling it out over and over again to make more cookies without worrying about it getting tough. When this season’s cookie exchange and holiday party invitations start rolling in, why not bake something that’s a little different than usual? A batch of these cookies, lightly dusted with powdered sugar… I think you’ll agree that there’s nothing ho ho-hum about them!
Molasses Roll Out Cookies
*makes 6 dozen 2-inch cookies
Ingredients:
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 cup butter, room temperature
- 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup unsulphered molasses
Instructions:
- In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt and set aside.
- In the bowl of a standing mixer, or with an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
- Add the egg, vanilla and molasses, and mix until combined.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet until just combined.
- Form the dough into a disk, wrap in parchment paper, and refrigerate for 30 minutes to overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Roll out the dough between two pieces of parchment paper to 1/4 inch thick for softer and chewier cookies. Roll them thinner for crispier cookies.
- Cut out with cookie cutters and bake for 10-12 minutes.
*Recipe and photos by Catherine McCord.
