Cookie swap time is really and truly one of my favorite times of the year. If you’re not familiar with the Food Blogger Love Cookie Exchange (which has taken the place of The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap (RIP), a whole mess of food bloggers get together and are each given the names of three other food bloggers. Then we all make three dozen cookies, send a dozen to each person to whom we are assigned, and receive a dozen from the three people who got our names.
Yes. 36 delicious, homemade cookies showed up in my mailbox, and I could not be more thrilled.
Also, in addition to all of us receiving baked goods through the mail (and who doesn’t love receiving baked goods through the mail?), every blogger who participated made a donation to either No Kid Hungry (an organization dedicated to ending childhood hunger. They believe no child should go to bed hungry; click here for more info) or Rescues for JoJo (an all-volunteer non-profit that helps “undesirable” shelter dogs find new homes. They have saved over 70 dogs, and these are animals that would likely otherwise be passed over by adopters due to health, breed, color, or other factors; click here for more info), or both! Great causes, great cookies…you really can’t go wrong here.
(See my posts from past cookie swaps here: 2014, 2015 (1) (2), 2016.)
This year, I got cookies from Megan of Strawberry Blondie Kitchen, who sent me Chocolate Peppermint Crinkle Cookies…
…Colleen of Faith, Hope, Love, and Luck…who sent me Crystallized Ginger Chocolate Chip Cookies…
…and Nicole of For the Love of Food who sent me wonderful Caramel Apple Cookies!
So many ridiculously amazing cookies. Thank you all! (Dennis thanks you, too!)
The people I sent cookies to were P of The Saucy Southerner, Renee of If Spoons Could Talk, and Lisa of Blogghetti. (As a side note, I fangirled, like, a lot at being paired up with Lisa. I’ve followed and loved Blogghetti for years!) The cookies I chose were Spiced Molasses Cookies from this month’s Bon Appetit magazine.
I was thinking about what cookies to make the day the issue showed up in my mailbox, and I thought, huh, I bet there are some cookie recipes in here. I was not disappointed.
These are so good. Excellent for Christmas cookie exchange parties, or just to bribe your co-workers not to talk about your behavior at the company holiday party.
Thank you so much to Allison of The PinterTest Kitchen and Sarah of The Fantastical Sharing of Recipes for organizing this again. I’m already looking forward to next year’s swap!
Spiced Molasses Cookies
From Bon Appetit Magazine, December 2017/January 2018
Makes 36-40 cookies
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. kosher salt
- 2 tsp. ground ginger
- 1 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. ground cloves
- 1 1/2 tsp. finely ground black pepper
- 1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/3 cup plus 1 Tbsp. molasses
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1 Tbsp. milk
- Whisk together both flours, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and black pepper in a medium bowl.
- Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat brown sugar and butter until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg and mix to incorporate. Add 1/3 cup molasses and stir until just combined.
- Reduce mixer speed to low and incorporate dry ingredients. Mix until just incorporated.
- Pat dough together into a ball and wrap in plastic. Chill for about 1 hour until firm.
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- Scoop out level tablespoonfuls of dough and roll into smooth balls. Place on cookie sheet about 2 inches apart.
- Bake cookies for 9 to 12 minutes. (Mine were done after 10 minutes, 30 seconds.) Transfer to wire racks to cool.
8. Whisk together powdered sugar, milk, and remaining 1 Tbsp. molasses until smooth. Drizzle glaze over cookies.
