Ingredients

The following ingredients have 4 Servings
  • 1/3 cup hot water
  • 1 cup unsulphured dark molasses
  • 1 teaspoon rum extract
  • 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 cup butter (softened)
  • 1 cup granulated sugar

Instruction

  • Stir the molasses, hot water, and rum extract together in a bowl.
  • In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about 3-4 minutes).
  • Alternate adding part of the flour mixture, then part of the molasses mixture, and mixing between additions, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
  • Make two discs of dough and wrap them in plastic wrap, then refrigerate for at least two hours.
  • When the dough is chilled, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and line a couple of cookie sheets with parchment paper.
  • Roll out the chilled dough on a lightly floured surface to 1/4 inch thickness, then cut into large circles using the lid of a coffee can (or in my case, the lid from the large jar of animal crackers from Costco). Any large lid would work, really, as long as it is about 6-inches in diameter or roughly the size of your hand. Although you could make the cookies smaller if you really wanted to.
  • Transfer the cut-out cookies to the cookie sheets, leaving at least an inch between cookies (I can only bake 4 per pan). Bake for 8-10 minutes just until the edges begin to brown. The cookies should be soft in the middle since they will continue to harden as they cool. Cool completely on a wire rack.