In my continuing quest for a truly delicious, easy to make, no-chill recipe for molasses cookies, I’ve finally struck gold!
This is an old-time recipe for a soft and chewy molasses cookie known in eastern Canada as “Lumberjacks” for reasons unknown. I found it last weekend in an old recipe box in Aunt Anne’s basement, in a pile of things set aside when the old homestead was sold.
He Who Craves Cookies has declared these molasses cookies “the best ones yet”! Good thing this recipe makes 4 dozen big ones!
Lumberjacks (Soft Molasses Cookies)
1 cup lard or shortening
1 cup dark molasses
2 eggs
4 cups sifted flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
Cream the sugar and shortening, add the molasses and eggs, then add the dray ingredients. Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a couple of baking sheets. Pinch off balls of cooky dough about the size of a walnut, dip the bottom in sugar, arrange on greased baking sheet, and bake at 350°F for 10 – 12 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
These are best made with the real old-fashioned blackstrap molasses and lard, but shortening works fine instead of lard (better for your heart, too) and there’s not a thing wrong with just using the regular molasses, Crosby’s or whatever your preferred grocery-store brand might be.
If you don’t feel like making the whole 4 dozen cookies at one time, put the rest of the dough in the refrigerator in a covered bowl until you’re ready to bake it up. It’ll safely keep for a week or more in the refrigerator.
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Domestika
I just tried your recipe for Lumberjacks Soft Molasses Cookies and I have a suggestion to make regarding your instructions.
You write:
“Pinch off balls of cooky dough about the size of a walnut, dip the bottom in sugar,”
but its not clear if the balls should be flattened or not.
I baked 2 sheets of the walnut size balls, flattened slightly with a fork but no sugar on the bottoms – and the bottoms turned completely black after 10 minutes! My fault, I should have stood by and watched them bake. I salvaged the tops by slicing off with a knife as they do taste SO good!
SO the next two sheets I decided to divide the dough in 2 and roll into a sausage and slice into 12 slices. Then on the cookie sheet I “rounded them out.
These were the perfect size! But they did bake longer, I watched them, maybe about 14-15 minutes. The diameter of the slices was about 1.5 inches and they spread a bit.
I hope this helps others, or perhaps it applies only to my unique situation.
They were just what I was hoping for though in taste and softness.
Thanks!
Judy, thanks so much for giving such specific and useful feedback! So glad you enjoyed the taste and softeness of these cookies – they are definitely one of our family favourites…
The original recipe came to me from an elderly neighbour, as just a list of ingredients! I try to be as clear as possible in the instructions for recipes, but it’s true that we all read things a bit differently and so it’s extra helpful to have someone point out a gap – and no, I don’t flatten the balls of dough, so yes- that coul very well have made the difference with that first batch.