Gianna, Isabella and Luca Mascari enjoy making their great grandmother Wessler’s cookies each Christmas season with Grandma Michele Medcalf.
Submitted photo
Editor’s note: The Daily Reporter is featuring local recipes and the stories behind them. Here, Michele Medcalf shares “Sharon’s Molasses Cookies” recipe in memory of her mother.
Crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside, the cookies are a holiday treat she likes to bake with her grandchildren.
“We enjoy making these molasses cookies because everyone can help,” writes Medcalf of Morristown. “From practicing reading the recipe and doing math to cracking eggs and then rolling them into balls and sugar … each of the children has a part.”
Medcalf said the cookies warm out of the oven don’t last long. Granddaughter Gianna says she loves tasting the spices and announces, “It makes me think of Christmas.”
Everyone in the kitchen is a wonderful way to cherish memories and share stories about a grandmother the children didn’t know in person, but they know from her recipes, Medcalf said.
Sharon’s Molasses Cookies
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup dark molasses
1 large egg, room temperature
½ cup shortening
½ cup sour milk (buttermilk)
¼ tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. vanilla
2 ¼ cup sifted flour
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. ginger
½ tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp. cloves
¼ tsp. nutmeg
Mix sugar, molasses, shortening, egg, milk and salt together. Then blend in the dry ingredients and mix well. Add the vanilla. Chill the dough for ½ hour. Roll in balls (walnut size) and dip in sugar. Put on a greased cookie sheet and flatten with glasses. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes.
This recipe is featured in the “Homemade Hometown Favorites” cookbook by the Hancock County Extension Homemakers. The book is available for $10 with proceeds benefiting local organizations. For information, call Margie Clark at 317-498-1549.
