Soft Yet Chewy Molasses Spice Cookies + Molasses Pop-Tarts with Peach Filling + Pop-Tart Cookies

Cookies and memories go hand-in-hand. These cookies remind me of when I went away from school. I had gone to a Starbucks and tried my first molasses cookie. Well, I was hooked to say the least. I thought these were the most amazing cookies I had ever tasted before. When Hallowe'en came around my mom was coming to visit me at school and had asked if I wanted her to bake me anything special. At first I said no, because I didn't think I wanted anything and then BAM, MOLASSES COOKIES! Oh boy, I wish I could find the recipe she had made her cookies with because they were fantastic... or maybe it was because someone else made them for me and threw in that extra special ingredient in the cookies; love. Regardless, these are definitely one of the best molasses cookies you will ever eat. Cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, brown sugar and butter all rolled in sugar. Could these be better than grandma's cookies? I think so.

Soft Yet Chewy Molasses Spice Cookies

Recipe taken from here

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup molasses

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. In a shallow bowl, place 1/2 cup sugar; set aside.

With an electric mixer, beat butter and remaining cup of sugar until combined. Beat in egg and then molasses until combined. Reduce speed to low; gradually mix in dry ingredients, just until a dough forms.

Pinch off and roll dough into balls, each equal to 1 tablespoon. Roll balls in reserved sugar to coat.

Arrange balls on baking sheets, about 3 inches apart. Bake, one sheet at a time, until edges of cookies are just firm, 10 to 15 minutes (cookies can be baked two sheets at a time, but they will not crackle uniformly). Cool 1 minute on baking sheets; transfer to racks to cool completely. Store in an airtight container up to 4 days.

Pour yourself a glass of milk and dig into these bad boys!

I decided to make some more baked goods with molasses. I mean, molasses really is an amazing thing. It tastes' delicious, smells amazing, and is very good for you. I saw the following recipe and couldn't wait to make them. I mean, not only are they pop-tarts, but instead of a plain Jane basic white flour dough, its a molasses dough. I REALLY REALLY liked these. They were however, one of the most 50-50 thing's I've ever baked. What I mean by that, is it was one of those thing's that people either really enjoyed or really hated. I thought everything about them was absolutely fantastic and would surely make them again. I think next time however, I would try it with a cranberry filling. Would that not be more like Christmas or what?

Molasses Pop-Tarts with Peach Filling

Ingredients for the Molasses Dough:

• 2 cups all purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 4 ounces (I stick) unsalted butter, cold and cut into 1/2" pieces
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp ground ginger
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground allspice
• 1/8 tsp ground cloves
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• 3 tbsp molasses

Directions:

Sift together the flour and baking soda and set aside.

With a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter on medium speed for about 2 minutes, until it's bright yellow. In a separate bowl, mix together the sugars, slat and spices, then add the mixture to the butter. Scrape the sides of the bowl down, then continue to cream the mixture on medium speed for about another minute. The mixture should be smooth and free of lumps.

With the mixer off, add the egg and molasses, then mix on medium for another minute until everything is incorporated. On low speed, add the sifted flour and beat on low until everything is incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Press the dough into a 1" rectangle, wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the freezer for 30 minutes, or in the refrigerator for 2 hours (you can keep it at this point wrapped in the fridge for 3 days, or in the freezer for 1 month).

Roll out the dough between two sheets of parchment paper to a 12" square. Dust with flour if it sticks, and place the dough, which should still be between the paper, into the freezer for 30 minutes.

Ingredients for the Filling:

• 2 tbsp butter
• 3 fresh peaches
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon

Directions:

Heat a large, heavy skillet over high heat and melt the butter. It should turn light brown after about 5 minutes. Add the peach slices in a single layer and cook for about 2 minutes, then sprinkle with the sugar and cinnamon. Continue to cook, stirring, for about 5 more minutes, until the peaches are tender (I used frozen, fresh peaches may take a bit less time). Take the pan off the heat and allow to cool. Chop the peaches into small pieces.

Preheat the oven to 350, with a rack in the middle. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Assembling the dough:

Take the dough out of the refrigerator, and flour both sides of the dough. On a floured surface, cut the dough into 16 3" squares and place a blob of filling in the center of 8 of them. It's easiest to transfer the first 8 squares to the baking sheets as you cut them. Cover the first 8 squares with the last 8. Pinch the edges together so that the squares look like ravioli and sprinkle sugar generously over the top. Bake for 12 to 18 minutes, the dough should be crisp and fragrant. Serve warm.


Pop-Tart Cookies


Recipe taken from here

I then decided to accentuate those pop-tarts even better, (yeah like it's even possible right?), but, you add more sugar, butter, and more sugar and anything can taste better. These cookies... are simply heavenly. When I tried them, I seriously regretted it. I regretted it because I fell deeply in-love, I seriously felt like I died and went to heaven. Yup, I can't even tell you how many I had in the one day... oh boy. I assume these cookies would be good with store-bought pop-tarts, but the homemade pop-tarts made such an impact!

Ingredients:

• 2 sticks unsalted butter
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/4 cups brown sugar, packed
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 8 Pop-Tarts, chopped
• 2 tbsp milk

Directions:

Heat oven to 375 degrees F.

Melt the butter in a heavy-bottom medium saucepan over medium low heat until butter turns amber in color. Sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda and set aside.

Pour the melted butter in the mixer’s work bowl. Add the sugar and brown sugar. Beat the butter and sugars on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add the egg, 2 tbsp milk and vanilla extract and mix until well combined. Slowly incorporate the flour mixture until thoroughly combined. Stir in the Pop-Tarts.

Chill the dough for 1 hour, then scoop onto parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake for 8 minutes or until golden brown, checking the cookies after 5 minutes.

Enjoy :)