Tessie and Cookies....

This morning we took Mookie to the vet for a check on his thyroid problem....He was not happy. When we arrived home, he stomped out of the carrier and ignored one and all. The humiliation!

I decided that, instead of cleaning and doing laundry right away, as I should, I would make cookies. I dug through the recipe file and found a recipe for Molasses Cookies.

This recipe has been handed down for at least four generations. My Grandma Daisy made them for me when I was little. My dad made them for me when I was grown. Then I made them for April when she was small. She has the recipe now.

I don't know the history before Grandma Daisy, but it is a pretty old recipe and I am sure that, at some point, it came right out of a cookbook. They are still my favorite molasses cookies.

I will include the recipe at the end of the entry for anybody that is interested.

When I started making them, Tessie rode in on her scooter and begged to help.

Before I could stop her, she parked the bike as close to the bowl as she could, hopped on the seat and grabbed the scoop.

I took that away from her and started scooping out chunks of dough. This recipe is not for the faint of heart. Before I get done, I am usually up to my elbows in dough. It is very soft and each cookie is rolled in sugar before it is put on the sheet to bake.

Again, Tessie tried to help roll the balls. She fell in twice. Scrambled out of the bowl twice. Dusted off the bottom of her feet twice....I am not sure how these cookies are going to taste. She dusted them back into the sugar bowl! She still has bits of dough in her hair.

After she realized that all of the cookies weren't going in the oven at once, she wandered away, sans scooter.

When the timer went off for the first batch, ten minutes later, she was right there with spatula in hand. I shooed her away, but not for long.

I took the cookies off of the sheet and put them on a rack to cool. Then I prepped another batch and put them in the oven and set the timer.

When I turned around this is what I saw!
Tessie was at least one cookie heavier than when I turned my back and was starting a second one.

Up to her nose in cookies, she sat there crooning, "Tessie's cookies.....Tessie's cookies....Yum Tessie's cookies..."

She refuses to get off of the pile that she amassed. She slapped my hand three times when I tried to snatch her by the scruff of her neck.

Sooner or later she is going to eat herself into a stupor. Then I will very quietly and gently lift her off and put her to bed. She probably won't wake up at least until tomorrow. She will never learn.

Now I am going to go have warm cookies and coffee. Here's the recipe, renamed...

Tessie's Molasses Cookies

1 1/2 c. sugar
1 c. shortening (I used butter.)
2 eggs beaten (I just throw them in without beating. They turn out just fine.)
1 c. molasses
4 c. flour
4 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. salt
Cream together sugar and butter. Add eggs and beat. add flour, spices, soda and salt. Beat well.
Roll into balls the size of walnuts. Roll balls in sugar and place on greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375degrees for 10 to 12 minutes. (I usually find that 10 is enough time.) Cookies will first puff and then flatten and crack on top as they bake. It makes about 60 good sized cookies.

P. S. Some of the European followers want to make these and there is no such thing as molasses there. I know that in England that it is refered to as treacle..Can anybody answer with other names for it. It is the thick, dark leftovers from making regular syrup...Please help if you can. I don't think that you could make these cookies with other syrups. They aren't thick or flavorful enough. Thanks!

I have waited long enough. I WANT A COOKIE!!!Then I have to clean....Maybe two cookies are in order....

See you tomorrow.