Pecan spice cookies

40 cookies

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
2 cups Less 2 T unsifted all- purpose flour
2 teaspoons Baking soda
½ teaspoon Salt
1 tablespoon Ground ginger
1½ teaspoon Ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon Ground allspice
¼ teaspoon Ground cloves
½ cup Sugar
½ cup Solid shortening
4 tablespoons Unsalted butter, softened
1 cup Sugar
1 Extra-large egg
2 teaspoons Vanilla extract
¼ cup Light molasses
¼ cup Ground pecans
1½ cup Chopped pecans

Directions

TO FINISH

Preheat oven to 375xF. Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, allspice and cloves.

Cream the shortening and butter in the large bowl of an electric mixer on moderately low speed for 3 minutes. Add the sugar in two additions, beating on moderately high speed for 2 minutes after each addition. Bet in the egg, vanilla extract and molasses. On low speed, blend in the sifted ingredients, mixing just until all the flour is absorbed. Stir in the ground pecans.

The dough will be soft. If it is soft, but still slightly sticky, refrigerate for 15-20 minutes. (The texture of the dough is largely dependent upon kitchen heat and humidity.) Take up tablespoons of dough and roll into balls. Lightly roll the balls first in granulted sugar, then in chopped pecans. Place the balls 3" apart on parchment-paper-lined cookie sheets (about 8-10 per sheet, depending upon the size of the sheet). Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 13-15 mintues. As the cookies bake, they will first puff up, then fall into flat, crinkled rounds. Remove the baked cookies to a cooling rack using a wide metal spatula. Cool completely. Store the cookies in an airtight tin.

NOTE: These molasses-flavored cookies are crispy and spice-enriched.

Serve them with applesauce or poached fruit, or right from the cookie jar.

Per cookie: 125 calories, 1 g protein, 14 g carbohydrates, 7 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 8 mg cholesterol, 92 mg sodium.

Source: Lisa Yockelson, "Nuts to Crack," The Washington Post FOOD Section, 9/14/94. Typed by Linda Howard.

From: Linda Howard Date: 09-16-94

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