Molasses-Spice Cookies

These cookies are a lighter cookie that is reminiscent of ginger snaps. Part of what helps these fit better into a meal plan is the ingredients, and another factor is that they are smaller. "Portion control" does play a role in the inclusion of sweets in a healthy overall diet, as discussed in our blog post on meal planning basics. It's important to include foods that don't leave you feeling deprived, so that you don't have to rely on willpower alone to hit your goals.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/3 cup all purpose flour (160g)

• 1 tsp baking soda

• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

• 1/4 tsp cloves

• 1/2 tsp ginger

• 1/4 tsp salt (omit if using salted butter)

• 1/2 cup (100g) brown sugar

• 1/4 cup butter (swap for Crisco baking stick for vegan option)

• 2 tbsp molasses

• 1 large egg egg (swap for 1 tbsp milled flax+3 tbsp water for vegan option)

• 1/4 cup white sugar for topping (nutrition facts assume all sugar is used up)

• bowl of very cold water to get topping to stick

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 375*F. Line a baking sheet with parchment if desired (this recipe is written for ungreased pans, but I still prefer to line the sheet).

2. Combine flour, baking soda, spices, and salt, sift or whisk to combine and break up any lumps.

3. Combine brown sugar, butter, molasses, and egg and blend well (an electric hand mixer will speed the process, but a wooden spoon and some elbow grease will do the trick)

4. Combine wet ingredients with dry and blend well.

5. Shape dough into ~1" diameter balls by rolling ~1 tbsp at a time in your hands.

6. Dip each ball into the cold water, shake off excess water, and roll in the topping sugar. Place on baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes (8 will be a little chewy and 10 will be more crispy/snappy).

7. Allow to cool slightly on trays before transferring to a cooling rack, store in airtight container once cooled to room temperature.

Nutrition per cookie, with 36 cookies (3 dozen) per batch: 50 calories, 1.5g total fat (0.9g saturated, 0.1g naturally occurring trans), 8.6mg cholesterol, 49.4mg sodium, 37.8mg potassium, 8.5g carbohydrates (0.2g fiber, 4.6g sugar, of which 4.6g is added sugar), 0.8g protein

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