Black Treacle/Molasses Cookies

I saw a lovely sounding recipe on Joy of Baking for molasses cookies.  So I thought I would try it out, but using Black Treacle instead of molasses.  The reason for that is that I had black treacle, and it is very similar indeed to molasses, being made from raw cane sugar.  Indeed in it much more common in the UK than molasses, though I have used that for several recipes in the past.

This cookie has some strong spicing too, with cinnamon, ginger and cloves, as well as dark brown sugar, which also has a molasses flavour.  Now I have a feeling that dark brown sugar in the UK is actually darker, with a more intense flavour than dark sugar in the USA.  So maybe I could have used light brown sugar, but no matter as my cookies turned out very well indeed.

Although this is a simple recipe it does take quite some time, from start to finish since the cookie dough needs to be firmed up in the fridge for about 3 hours.  But you could easily make the dough one day, put it in the fridge, and then roll into balls and bake the next day.

As I mentioned my cookies turned out just great, full of the rich molasses flavour with the lovely mixture of spices.  When first baked they are nice and crisp on the outside and soft and chewy in the middle. I will surely be baking these again in time for Christmas.

This recipe will make 36-40 cookies of 20 grams each.

Ingredients:

• 260g plain flour
• 113g softened butter
• 200g dark brown sugar
• 1 medium egg(large in USA)
• 80ml black treacle(or molasses)
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbs vegetable oil
• granulated sugar for rolling

Method:

1. In a stand mixer, with paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat the sugar and eggs together  until fluffy.
2. Add in the egg, vanilla extract and black treacle into the butter mixture and beat to combine fully.
3. Add the oil and beat to combine.
4. In a separate bowl mix the flour, cinnamon, ginger, cloves baking soda and salt.
5. Add to the cookie mixture and beat until just combined.
6. Place the dough in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 3 hours.
7. Preheat the oven to 190C/170C Fan/375 F.
8. Line two baking trays with baking paper/parchment paper. (you will need to bake two batches of two trays).
9. Roll the cookie dough into balls weighing about 20g and then roll each ball into granulated sugar until coated.
10. Place the balls on the baking trays, leaving a gap of about 2 inches to allow spreading.
11. Use the bottom of a glass to flatten each ball slightly.
12. Bake in the oven for 9 to 10 minutes until the cookies have spread and cracked a little.
13. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes then gently transfer the cookies to a wire rack and allow them to cool completely.