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B2 — THE OBSERVER & BAKER CITY HERALD
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2021
Molasses makes the ultimate lunchbox cookie
By RICK NELSON
Minneapolis Star Tribune
These impressive, easy-
to-make molasses crin-
kles are a perfect back-to-
school treat.
One of the rules of my
book club is that the host
provides dessert, and one
of the joys of my book club
is that many of its mem-
bers are excellent bakers.
Years ago, fellow book
clubber and colleague
Chris Hewitt was serving
cookies, and one of them
was a fantastic molasses
crinkle. The texture
really stuck out: slightly
crisped-up on the outside,
yet softly chewy on the
inside. Another duality?
It looked like an everyday
cookie jar cookie, but
tasted like so much more,
exuding a rich molasses
bite that tickled the nose
before landing on the taste
buds.
Molasses crinkles are a
lifelong favorite of mine.
They were a staple of my
mother’s baking repertoire,
and frequently ended up
in the brown paper lunch
sacks I carried every day
to Palmer Lake Elementary
School. Turns out, Chris
shares a similar history.
“Everyone in our family
loves them,” he said. “My
sister and I have always
called them ‘Molasses
Shops,’ and we still do,
which makes no sense.
We thought the name on
Mom’s recipe card said
‘shops,’ but it’s ‘snaps.’
Which is weird, because
they don’t snap, they’re a
soft cookie.”
Unlike me — I prob-
ably didn’t bake a single
molasses crinkle during
my 20s and 30s — Chris
incorporated his moth-
er’s recipe into his baking
routine.
“I’ve always made
them,” he said. “They’re
so easy, and forgiving. You
could throw all the ingre-
dients in a bowl, hit the
mixer button and they’d
be fi ne. And they make
your house smell so good.
Even if you’re going to
give them all away, they’re
worth making.”
Chris being Chris, he
generously shared the
recipe. Over the inter-
vening years I’ve prepared
it so many times that I
barely need to reference
my splattered and wrin-
kled handwritten copy.
Since I’m incapable of
leaving well enough alone,
I’ve tweaked Judy Hewitt’s
formula to the point where
I wonder if she’d recognize
it. (I hope she approves).
Her version calls for short-
ening (turns out, she orig-
inally used bacon fat), but
I prefer cookies made with
butter. I’ve replaced some
of the granulated sugar
with dark brown sugar to
underline the molasses
fl avor. Instead of a whole
egg I use just the yolk, and
if the eggs are small, I’ll
make it two yolks.
Rather than cinnamon,
I’ve inserted hints of car-
damom and allspice.
Sometimes I play around
with the spice levels,
adding more ginger and/
or cloves, or giving the
pepper mill a few more
cranks.
I prefer using a strongly
fl avored molasses, because
they’re called molasses
crinkles. For this reason
I skip the familiar (and,
let’s be honest, dull) Brer
Rabbit brand, and pick up
the full-bodied organic
molasses from the Whole-
some label, available at
some supermarkets and
most natural foods co-ops.
The slightly larger Whole-
some bottle is often twice
the price of its more
familiar competitor, so
it’s a splurge. But the best
baked goods start with the
best ingredients.
I also purchase ground
spices in the bulk aisle
at the co-op; it’s cheaper,
because you can buy what
you need, and the fl avor is
generally more lively.
Sometimes, I refrigerate
the dough overnight. This
step helps relax the fl our’s
glutens and dials up the
tenderness factor, although
it also takes away from the
lunchbox cookie genre’s
no-fuss nature.
On a similar note, this
is an excellent work-ahead
cookie. Form the dough
into balls, arrange them
in a single layer, freeze
them and then store in the
freezer in an airtight con-
tainer. When you’re ready
to bake, allow the dough
to thaw slightly, roll the
dough balls in sugar and
bake.
That sugar, by the
way, is all the embellish-
Rick Nelson/Minneapolis Star Tribune-TNS
Mrs. Hewitt’s Molasses Crinkles is the ultimate lunchbox cookie.
ment this cookie needs. I
love how a rustic beauty
develops as the tops form
their namesake fi ssures,
and the way the sugar
twinkles against the cop-
per-tinted dough.
However, I once cre-
ated a dolled-up version,
and the results are worth
noting.
The occasion was our
department’s holiday
cookie competition. True
to form, I’d completely
forgotten about it until
the night before. Baking
cookies was the last
activity that I wanted to
do; I’d recently wrapped up
the Star Tribune’s annual
holiday cookie contest and,
to be honest, I was cookied
out.
Turns out, staging a
cookie contest for nearly
20 years creates expecta-
tions, including mandatory
participation in the offi ce
baking competition. Oh,
and your entry had better
be good. If not, as they say
in Texas, you’re all hat and
no cattle.
I took a quick pantry
GRILL
Continued from Page B1
Divide the meat into 4 equal
portions; with cupped hands, toss
one portion of meat back and
forth to form a loose ball.
3. Pat lightly to fl atten meat
into 3/4-inch thick burger that
measures about 4 1/2 inches
across. Press the center of the pat-
ty down with your fi ngertips until
it is about 1/2-inch thick, creating
a well or divot in the center of the
patty. Repeat with the remaining
portions of meat.
4. Grill the burgers, divot-side
up, uncovered and without
pressing down on them, until well
seared on the bottom, about 2
1/2 minutes. Flip the burgers and
continue grilling to the desired
doneness, about 2 minutes for
rare, 2 1/2 minutes for medium-ra-
re, 3 minutes for medium and 4
minutes for well done.
Per serving: 546 calories; 43
g fat; 19 g saturated fat; 148 mg
cholesterol; 36 g protein; 1 g car-
bohydrate; no sugar; no fi ber; 878
mg sodium; 233 mg calcium
— Recipe from “Steaks, Chops,
Roasts and Ribs” by the editors of
Cook’s Illustrated Magazine
MUSTARD
LIME STEAKS
Yield: 4 servings
inventory and realized that
we had all the ingredients
for Mrs. Hewitt’s Molasses
Crinkles. Which was per-
fect, because my rock-
bottom energy level was
an ideal fi t for this easy-to-
prepare recipe.
I knew that, fl avor- and
texture-wise, I had a con-
tender on my hands, but
maybe a festive icing
might make it irresist-
ible to the judges’ panel.
I turned to an easy for-
mula from — where else?
— “The Great Minnesota
Cookie Book,” which fea-
tures the winning recipes
from the fi rst 15 years of
the Star Tribune Holiday
Cookie Contest.
By the way, that icing
recipe was a snap. Com-
bine 1½ cups of powdered
sugar with 3 tablespoons
of milk (or 3 tablespoons
of melted and cooled
butter), then whisk until
smooth. For a yuletide
touch, I stirred in some
fi nely chopped crystallized
ginger.
Yeah, I won. Thanks,
Mrs. Hewitt.
MRS. HEWITT’S
MOLASSES
CRINKLES
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Fahrenheit and line baking
sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, whisk
together the fl our, baking soda,
ginger, cardamom, cloves,
allspice, black pepper and salt,
and reserve.
3. In the bowl of an electric
mixer on medium-high speed,
beat butter until creamy, about
1 minute. Add granulated sugar
and dark brown sugar and beat
until light and fl uff y, about 2 min-
utes. Add egg yolk and vanilla
extract and beat until thoroughly
combined.
4. Reduce speed to low, add
molasses and mix until thorough-
ly incorporated, scraping down
sides and bottom of bowl and
mixing thoroughly. Add fl our
mixture in thirds, mixing until just
combined. Do not overmix.
5. Place about 3/4 cup granu-
lated sugar into a wide, shallow
bowl. Form dough into 1-inch
balls, roll in granulated sugar and
place 2 inches apart on prepared
baking sheets. Bake until cookies
are browned and slightly puff y,
with cracks in the tops, about 11
minutes, rotating pan halfway
through baking (if using a con-
vection oven, check on them at
9 minutes, and if still slightly wet
in the cracks, bake an additional
30 seconds). Do not overbake.
Remove from oven, cool cookies
on baking sheets for about 5
minutes, then transfer to a wire
rack to cool completely.
carbohydrate; 2 g sugar; 1 g fi ber;
960 mg sodium; 55 mg calcium
— Recipe from “The Barbecue!
Bible” by Steven Raichlen
them lightly. Grill the asparagus
over a medium-hot fi re for about
5 minutes, turning the spears until
the skin is shriveled and slightly
charred all over. Test the aspara-
gus for doneness at its thickest
point with the tip of a knife; the
asparagus should feel soft in the
center. Transfer to warm plates
and drizzle with extra-virgin olive
oil and juice from 1/2 lemon.
3. Grill the pancetta for several
minutes until it renders some of
its fat and just begins to crisp.
Coarsely chop the pancetta and
strew it over the asparagus while
still warm; sprinkle with the
chopped egg. Top with thin slices
of Parmesan. Serve immediately.
Per serving: 507 calories; 48
g fat; 12 g saturated fat; 133 mg
cholesterol; 23 g protein; 8 g
carbohydrate; 2 g sugar; 4 g fi ber;
1,650 mg sodium; 70 mg calcium
— Recipe from “Chez Panisse
Cooking” by Paul Bertolli and
Alice Waters
GRILLED
ASPARAGUS
WITH OLIVE
OIL AND
PARMESAN
Yield: 2 servings
Colter Peterson/St. Louis Post-Dispatch-TNS
Mustard-Lime Steak right off the barbecue grill.
4 steaks (sirloin, T-bone, ribeye,
New York strip or skirt)
1/4 cup dry mustard,
such as Colman’s
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 large, juicy lime
Coarse salt
White pepper
1. Place steaks on a platter and
sprinkle 2 tablespoons of the
dry mustard over them. Pat the
steaks with the fl at part of a fork
to spread the mustard evenly.
Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of
the Worcestershire sauce, then
squeeze half the lime juice over
them. Pat the steaks with the fork.
Season generously with salt and
pepper.
2. Turn the steaks over and
When your computer is in despair
OUTSTANDING
repeat on the other side. Let the
steaks marinate for 15 to 20 min-
utes while you preheat the grill.
3. Set up the grill for direct
grilling, and preheat to high.
4. Brush and oil the grill grate.
Place the steaks on the hot grate
and grill, turning with tongs, until
cooked to taste, 4 to 6 minutes
per side for medium-rare. Do not
rotate the steaks, or you will knock
off the mustard mixture. Transfer
to a platter and let rest 3 minutes.
5. Slice the steaks thinly on the
diagonal, as you would for Lon-
don broil. Let the slices marinate
in the meat juices for a minute or
two, then serve.
Per serving: 808 calories; 55
g fat; 24 g saturated fat; 182 mg
cholesterol; 71 g protein; 7 g
8 fat asparagus spears
1 tablespoon pure olive oil
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 lemon
6 thin slices pancetta
1 large egg, hard-cooked
and chopped
Fresh Parmesan cheese
Makes about 3 dozen cookies.
2 1/4 cups fl our
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon freshly
ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted
butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup plus 1/3 cup
granulated sugar, plus
extra for rolling dough
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup dark molasses
M ICHAEL
541-786-8463
M. Curtiss PN-7077A CCB# 183649
A C ERTIFIED M ASTER A RBORIST
1. Prepare a charcoal fi re.
2. Toss the asparagus in the
pure olive oil, and salt and pepper
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