The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook (293 page)

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

Molasses spice cookies are often miserable specimens, no more than flat, tasteless cardboard rounds of gingerbread. They can be dry and cakey without the requisite chew; others are timidly flavored with molasses and scantily spiced. We wanted to create the ultimate molasses spice cookie—soft, chewy, and gently spiced with deep, dark molasses flavor. We also wanted it to have the traditional cracks and crinkles so characteristic of these charming cookies. We started with all-purpose flour and butter for full, rich flavor. Using just the right amount of molasses and brown sugar and flavoring the cookies with a combination of vanilla, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, black pepper, and allspice gave these spiced cookies the warm tingle that we were after. We found that to keep the cookies mild, using a light or mild molasses is imperative; but if it’s a stronger flavor you want, dark molasses is in order. We pulled the cookies from the oven when they still looked a bit underdone; residual heat finished the baking and kept the cookies chewy and moist.

MAKES ABOUT 22 COOKIES

For best flavor, make sure that your spices are fresh. Light or mild molasses gives the cookies a milder flavor; for a stronger flavor, use dark molasses.

1.
Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Place ¹⁄
₂
cup granulated sugar in shallow baking dish or pie plate; set aside.

2.
Whisk flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, allspice, pepper, and salt together in medium bowl; set aside.

3.
Using stand mixer fitted with paddle, beat butter, brown sugar, and remaining ¹⁄
₃
cup granulated sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to medium-low and add egg yolk and vanilla; increase speed to medium and beat until incorporated, about 20 seconds. Reduce speed to medium-low and add molasses; beat until fully incorporated, about 20 seconds, scraping down bowl as needed. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture; beat until just incorporated, about 30 seconds, scraping down bowl as needed. Give dough final stir to ensure that no flour pockets remain. Dough will be soft.

4.
Working with 1 tablespoon of dough at a time, roll into balls. Roll half of dough balls in sugar and toss to coat. Place dough balls 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough.

5.
Bake 1 sheet at a time until cookies are browned, still puffy, and edges have begun to set but centers are still soft (cookies will look raw between cracks and seem underdone), about 11 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through baking. Do not overbake.

6.
Let cookies cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes; transfer cookies to wire rack and let cool to room temperature.

If the glaze is too thick to drizzle, whisk in up to an additional ¹⁄
₂
tablespoon rum.

Whisk 1 cup confectioners’ sugar and 2¹⁄
₂
tablespoons dark rum together in medium bowl until smooth. Drizzle or spread glaze using back of spoon on cooled cookies. Allow glazed cookies to dry at least 15 minutes.

The orange zest in the sugar coating causes the sugar to become sticky and take on a light orange hue, giving the baked cookies a unique frosty look.

Process ²⁄
₃
cup granulated sugar and 2 teaspoons grated orange zest until pale orange, about 10 seconds; transfer sugar to shallow baking dish or pie plate and set aside. Add 1 teaspoon grated orange zest to dough along with molasses and substitute orange sugar for granulated sugar when coating dough balls in step 4.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

Store-bought lemon cookies are often saccharine-sweet and artificial tasting, with a thin veneer of frosting and a barely detectable lemon flavor. For a lemon cookie recipe with the perfect balance of lemony zing and rich, buttery sweetness, we started with all-purpose flour, which made our cookies tender. Just an egg yolk instead of a whole egg added even more tenderness, and a touch of baking powder gave our cookies just the right amount of airy crispness. Grinding some lemon zest with the sugar before adding it to the dough contributed bold lemon flavor without harshness. A simple glaze of cream cheese, lemon juice, and confectioners’ sugar perfected these lemony treats.

MAKES ABOUT 30 COOKIES

The cookies are best eaten the day they are glazed.

COOKIES

GLAZE

1. FOR THE COOKIES:
Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 375 degrees.

2.
In food processor, process granulated sugar and lemon zest until sugar looks damp and zest is thoroughly incorporated, about 30 seconds. Add flour, salt, and baking powder; pulse to combine, about 10 pulses. Scatter butter over flour mixture; pulse until mixture resembles fine cornmeal, about 15 pulses. In measuring cup, beat lemon juice, egg yolk, and vanilla with fork to combine. With processor running, add juice mixture in slow, steady stream (process should take about 10 seconds); continue processing until dough begins to form ball, 10 to 15 seconds longer.

3.
Turn dough and any dry bits onto counter; working quickly, gently knead together to ensure that no dry bits remain and dough is homogeneous. Shape dough into log about 10 inches long and 2 inches in diameter. Wrap log in parchment paper and twist ends to seal. Chill dough until firm, about 45 minutes in freezer or 2 hours in refrigerator.

4.
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment. Remove dough log from parchment and, using chef’s knife, slice dough into ³⁄
₈
-inch-thick rounds, rotating dough so that it won’t become misshapen from weight of knife. Place rounds 1 inch apart on prepared baking sheets. Bake until centers of cookies just begin to color and edges are golden brown, 14 to 16 minutes, switching and rotating baking sheets halfway through baking. Let cookies cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes; transfer cookies to wire rack and let cool to room temperature before glazing.

5. FOR THE GLAZE:
Whisk cream cheese and lemon juice in medium bowl until no lumps remain. Add confectioners’ sugar and whisk until smooth.

6. TO GLAZE THE COOKIES:
When cookies have cooled, working with one at a time, spread glaze evenly over each cookie with back of spoon. Let cookies stand on wire rack until glaze is set and dry, about 1 hour.

Substitute 1 tablespoon grated orange zest for equal amount of lemon zest and ¹⁄
₄
cup cornmeal for equal amount of flour.

Process 3 tablespoons finely chopped crystallized ginger along with sugar and lemon zest.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

Often shortbread turns out bland and chalky. We wanted superlative shortbread with an alluring tawny brown crumb and pure, buttery richness. In initial tests, we tinkered with various mixing methods and found that reverse creaming—mixing the flour and sugar before adding the butter, creating less aeration—yielded the most reliable results. To smooth out an objectionable granular texture, we swapped the white sugar for confectioners’ sugar. Still, our shortbread was unpleasantly tough. The problems were gluten and moisture. Gluten, the protein matrix that lends baked goods structure and chew, forms naturally when liquid and all-purpose flour are combined, even without kneading. The liquid in our recipe was coming from butter, which contains 20 percent water. To curb gluten development, we replaced some of our flour with powdered old-fashioned oats. We ground some oats to a powder and supplemented it with a modest amount of cornstarch (using all oat powder muted the buttery flavor). The cookies were now perfectly crisp and flavorful, with an appealing hint of oat flavor. As for the moisture problem, we baked the dough briefly, then shut off the heat and let it sit in the still-warm oven. The batch was dry through and through, with an even golden brown exterior. Crisp and buttery, our shortbread was anything but bland.

See “FORMING AND BAKING SHORTBREAD” illustrations that follow recipe.