Christmas In July

It's July... in Maine. Needless to say, it's not cold. With enough heat and humidity in the air to make you think you're in the deep south, I've decided I'm going to tun the oven on! I know, sometimes I don't seem like the sharpest tool in the shed. But I had a special request, so to the oven I go! 

Last Christmas (I gave you my heart) I made a few different types of cookies for cookie boxes. Among the goodies were some ginger molasses cookies. I'm not the biggest gingerbread or molasses fan, but I thought I'd branch out because normal people seem to like them. Well, let me tell you. These cookies exceeded my expectations as well as everyone else's. They have made me a fan of the spices of the holidays for life. If they make my grandmother want to risk slipping into a diabetic coma, they must be good right? 

Since we are in the midsts of all the Christmas in July specials on with the sappy made for tv movies and price slashes in the stores, I might as well follow suit and make my stomach happy. Plus, I really wouldn't mind if it were Christmas time right about now. Call me crazy, but this summer weather is not my friend. A world of perpetual fall would be ideal. To quite one of my favorites: "I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers."

Shall we?
To make these ginger molasses cookies you'll need...

2 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 1/4 tsp cinnamon 
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp allspice 
1/8 tsp cardamom 
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup molasses
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar (for rolling)

1. Preheat your oven to 350F.
2. In a large bowl combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, cardamom and salt.
3. In a separate bowl combine the egg, vegetable oil, molasses and brown sugar.
4. Pour the wet into the dry and get to mixing. I suggest just roughing it with a wire whisk and then switch to a spatula. If you use a mixer or even a hand mixer it might incorporate a little too much air and fluff the batter too much. 
5. Roll 1 tsp size balls into the granulated sugar. This will help with the crackle look and taste. YUM. 
6. When the oven comes to temperature, pop these in for 8-10 minutes, check at 8 depending in your oven, mine took 9 to be exact. You don't want the cookies to be very brown, you want them to look puffed and light brown. They will deflate after cooking.
7. Let the cookies cool on a wire rack and you're done! This recipe makes 36 cookies depending on the size you want.

Even though baking in this heat makes me want to move into a deep freezer forever, my house smells like Christmas and and the comforts of home during the holidays and it makes me so happy. 

I've decided these cookies are good year round and you don't need sweater weather to enjoy them... although it does make for a better experience. For a summer treat, these chewy cookies with a little bit of a snap on the outside make them perfect for ice cream sandwiches! A couple of these babies hugging a scoop of some really good vanilla ice cream sounds pretty good right about now. In fact, I might be eating it as I type this...

So, kids, throw on a bathing suit and eat your Christmas cookies!

-Meaghan