I love, Love, LOVE molasses cookies. I have never met a molasses cookie that I haven't immediately fell in love with. There is something about the combination ginger and molasses that just warms the heart.
Of course my first loves are my own grandmother's molasses cookies. You can find that recipe here. Soft and pillow-like, they have been pleasing my family for generations!
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I have very fond memories of helping my grandmother to roll them out on her countertop, cutting them and baking them when I was four years old. My grandmother was suffering from cancer at the time and did not live much longer than that.
I do not know how she mustered the strength to bake cookies with me, but she did. She always had time for me. I have many fond memories of cuddling with her in her ample lap while she sang the song "you are my sunshine" to me.
I am the only one of my siblings that remembers her. I am so grateful for those memories.
This recipe for Nanny's Molasses Cookies comes from the book entitled, The Lost Kitchen, by Erin French.
This is an Erin French Molasses cookie recipe which comes from the recipe collection left to her by her own sweet grandmother.
There is just something about grandmother's and molasses cookies. The two go together like peas and carrots!
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What makes these that little bit different is that they are studded throughout with bits of candied ginger. Sweet, firey, bits of candied gingerroot.
I love the stuff and can sometimes be found to be munching on a piece. My favorites are the chunks you can buy which has been bathed in dark chocolate.
Ginger is, quite simply, one of my favorite flavors, full stop.
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Not only are they studded with bits of candied ginger, but they are also filled with wonderful spicy flavors. Ginger. Cloves. Cinnamon. Cardamom. And, of course . . . dark sweet molasses.
The cardamom is my own addition. It is a flavor I have come to love in any kind of molasses ginger infusion. It goes very well.
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I also chose to downsize the recipe to make a half batch. She said her original recipe made two dozen, but I halved it and got 18 good sized cookies.
I sent some home with my sister to give to my dad. He likes something sweet after his supper and he loves molasses cookies. I am sure he will be quite happy with these.
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WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE NANNY'S MOLASSES COOKIES
Simple baking ingredients that most of us already have in our larders. Its easy really.
- 1 3/4 cups (245g) plain all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves
- 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
- 1/2 cup (110g) white vegetable shortening (Crisco or Trex)
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar, plus extra for rolling
- 1 large free range egg, beaten
- 1/4 cup (88g) molasses
- 1/3 cup (80g) chopped crystalized gingerroot (optional)
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I suspect that they would not quite be the same if you were to use butter instead of shortening (white vegetable fat). Part of the appeal of these is the crisp exterior and soft fudgy interior.
I think that butter would make them too crispy, but I could be wrong. White shortening has its uses. Here in North American I would use Crisco, but in the UK, use white flora or Trex, both of which are available in the chiller aisle of the grocery shops.
You can also buy Crisco online in the UK at American grocery supply shops. I used to buy mine from Skyco.
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Other than that everything else is pretty straightforward. Just plain all purpose flour, a variety of baking spices, egg, and some white granulated sugar.
Oh and molasses. In the UK you can replace equal amounts of dark treacle and golden syrup to make up the amount of molasses needed. But again, you can buy molasses at American Grocery supply shops online. I used to buy mine (again) from Skyco.
Look at how fudgy they are. Pure heavenly bliss.
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HOW TO MAKE NANNY'S MOLASSES COOKIES
These are very simple cookies, which go together very quickly with an electric hand mixer.
Preheat the oven to 375*F/190*C/ gas mark 5. Line a large baking tray with baking paper. Set aside.
Sift together the flour, soda, and all of the spices.
Cream the shortening with a hand held electric whisk until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, beating it in thoroughly. Beat in the molasses.
Add the dry ingredients, blending until the dough just comes together. Stir in the candied ginger. Cover and chill the dough for half an hour.
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Using a cookie scoop form the dough into 1 inch balls. Have ready a bowl of sugar. Roll the balls in the sugar to coat and place onto the baking sheet leaving about 2 inches in between each. Press down gently with the palm of your hand to flatten slightly.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Cracks should just be starting to form on the surface. They will actually look slightly underdone, but don't worry, they aren't.
Leave to cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.
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You can see here that crisp sugar coating and the cracks which are spoken about in the recipe. You can also see the bits of candied ginger. So tasty!
If you are in the mood to bake cookies and these don't strike your fancy, here are some others you might enjoy!
QUARTER CUP COOKIES - Crisp edged, buttery and delicious and filled with lots of chocolate chips. toasted nuts, oatmeal, coconut and raisins.
SOFT AND CHEWY JAM AND SUGAR COOKIES - Sweet sugar cookies with tasty jam centers. These are fabulously moreish.
Happy baking!
Nanny's Molasses Cookies (small batch)
Yield: 18 cookies
Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 10 MinTotal time: 25 Min
Soft inside, crisp and sugary on the outside. Studded with moreish bits of candied ginger. These are just wonderful.
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups (245g) plain all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves
- 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
- 1/2 cup (110g) white vegetable shortening (Crisco or Trex)
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar, plus extra for rolling
- 1 large free range egg, beaten
- 1/4 cup (88g) molasses
- 1/3 cup (80g) chopped crystalized gingerroot
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375*F/190*C/ gas mark 5. Line a large baking tray with baking paper. Set aside.
- Sift together the flour, soda, and all of the spices.
- Cream the shortening with a hand held electric whisk until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, beating it in thoroughly. Beat in the molasses.
- Add the dry ingredients, blending until the dough just comes together. Stir in the candied ginger. Cover and chill the dough for half an hour.
- Using a cookie scoop form the dough into 1 inch balls. Have ready a bowl of sugar. Roll the balls in the sugar to coat and place onto the baking sheet leaving about 2 inches in between each. Press down gently with the palm of your hand to flatten slightly.
- Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Cracks should just be starting to form on the surface. They will actually look slightly underdone, but don't worry, they aren't.
- Leave to cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Store in an airtight container.
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan@aol.com
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I think I have a favorite new biscuit recipe! I made these yesterday to take to a friend's place for dinner and they were a resounding success!
I had been watching Ina Garten on the television the other day and she was showing this guy how to make breakfast. She made were these fabulous sounding buttermilk cheddar biscuits to go along with scrambled eggs.
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I was invited out for dinner yesterday and I thought they would be a great thing to bring. I am so pleased that I made them because they are the best cheese biscuits ever!
I knew they would be because one . . . Ina Garten . . . and two . . . cheese . . . and three biscuits. I couldn't go wrong!
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Not only are the best cheese biscuits ever but they ended up being the easiest biscuits I ever made! She put them all together in her stand mixer, a process which really intrigued me.
I just had to make them!
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My friend Diana has sent me a few cookbooks that she wasn't using last year before Christmas. One of them was Barefoot Contessa back to basics. I found the recipe in there and adapted it use both normal and British measurements.
I like to do that, and to be honest, I always use the weight method of baking now. I got used to it when I was in the UK and you don't get much more accurate than weighing things out. A gram is a gram is a gram. Cups however, are not always exactly the same.
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Another thing I really liked about the recipe was that there is no waste, and no cutting and remixing the scraps to cut out more. You simply just pat the whole thing out to a large rectangle and then cut it into smaller rectangles.
I have always tried to get as many biscuits as I can from the first cut when it comes to making biscuits. The recuts are never quite as tender or the same as the first cuts. There are no recuts with this recipe so every biscuit was perfect!
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WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE BUTTERMILK CHEDDAR BISCUITS
Simple ingredients put together in a really scrumptious way!
- 2 1/2 cups (350g) (approximately) plain all purpose flour
- 1 TBS baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup (180g) cold butter, diced
- 1/2 cup (120ml) cold buttermilk, shaken
- 1 cold extra large egg (I used two small)
- 1 cup (120g) grated extra strong cheddar cheese
You will also need: (all optional)
- 1 egg beaten with 1 TBS water
- additional grated cheese to sprinkle on top
- flaked sea salt to sprinkle
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You will note that the butter, eggs and buttermilk are all cold for this recipe. You also need to shake the buttermilk to make sure it hasn't separated. If your butter, eggs and milk are all cold you will have the best results.
I grate my own cheddar for this and used a lovely sharp farmhouse cheddar. Mine happened to be orange colored, but a white would work just as well. I really love the flavor of sharp cheddar. Rich and crumbly. I use the large holes on my box grater.
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I was actually a bit surprised that there was no baking soda in the mix. I had always been taught that you need a bit of baking soda to react with acidic ingredients. This was probably counteracted in this recipe by the use of 1 full TBS of baking powder.
That is not a misprint. You actually will be using 1 TBS of baking powder. I was a bit concerned that using so much would make them taste overly chemically, but you could not taste the baking powder in the least.
Actually most biscuit recipes call for 4 tsp of baking powder and that is not far off from being a TBS anyways.
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HOW TO MAKE BUTTERMILK CHEDDAR BISCUITS
This really was one of the easiest biscuit recipes I have ever made, I kid you not! You do need a good stand mixer, but I suppose you could also make them by hand if you don't have a stand mixer.
I love my kitchen aid stand mixer. I was so blessed to have been given it by a friend when I first moved back to Canada. I was blessed many times over by a great many people during that time and I hope that none of them ever think I took any of it for granted.
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Preheat the oven to 425*F/220*C/ gas mark 7. Line a baking sheet with some baking paper. Set aside.
Measure the flour, baking powder and salt into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Give it a brief whir on low. Add the butter and mix on low until the butter is the size of peas. (Its like magic)
Beat the buttermilk and egg together with a fork. With the mixer still on low, add the buttermilk to the flour/butter mixture and mix only until just moistened.
Mix about 1 TBS of flour with the grated cheese. With the mixer still on low add the cheese to the dough, mixing only until roughly combined.
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Tip out onto a well floured board and knead gently to bring together about six times. Pat out into a 5 by 10 inch rectangle which is about 1 inch thick.
Using a sharp knife cut the dough into 8 biscuits, making 1 cup lengthwise and 4 crosswise. Place the rectangles onto the baking sheet leaving plenty of space between.
Brush the tops of the biscuits with some egg wash, taking care not to let any drip down the sides. Sprinkle each with a bit of cheese and some flakes of salt if using.
Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes until well risen, golden brown and cooked through.
Serve hot or warm. We actually enjoyed them at room temperature about six hours after I baked them and they were gorgeous!
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We actually enjoyed these with some cold cuts, potato salad, coleslaw, as well as sliced tomatoes and cucumbers. There was nothing left. These were gobbled up!
I did not put flaked salt on the top of them as I felt that the cheese was salty enough. I also didn't use her full amount of salt because my butter was salted butter. If you are using unsalted butter you might want to add an additional 1/2 tsp.
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If you are fan of biscuits there is no shortage of biscuit recipes on here. Baking powder biscuits are one of my favorite things to make and to eat! Here are a few samples of what you will find:
MILE HIGH GREEK YOGURT BISCUITS - Another square biscuit with no waste. These are nice and tall and flaky! A real favorite!
QUICK AND EASY BUTTERMILK BISCUITS FOR TWO - A small batch recipe for the small family. Delicious and flaky and lacking nothing in the least as compared to their full batch counterpart!
BLUEBERRY BUTTERSWIM BISCUITS - rich and buttery with a beautiful crumb. These are filled with lovely sweet pockets of blueberry!
Buttermilk Cheddar Biscuits
Yield: 8
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 25 MinTotal time: 35 Min
These are light, flaky, rich and delicious! Just what you would expect from Ina Garten. They go together quickly using a stand mixer and there is no waste.
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups (350g) (approximately) plain all purpose flour
- 1 TBS baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup (180g) cold butter, diced
- 1/2 cup (120ml) cold buttermilk, shaken
- 1 cold extra large egg (I used two small)
- 1 cup (120g) grated extra strong cheddar cheese
You will also need: (all optional)
- 1 egg beaten with 1 TBS water
- additional grated cheese to sprinkle on top
- flaked sea salt to sprinkle
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425*F/220*C/ gas mark 7. Line a baking sheet with some baking paper. Set aside.
- Measure the flour, baking powder and salt into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Give it a brief whir on low. Add the butter and mix on low until the butter is the size of peas.
- Beat the buttermilk and egg together with a fork.
- With the mixer still on low, add the buttermilk to the flour/butter mixture and mix only until just moistened.
- Mix about 1 TBS of flour with the grated cheese. With the mixer still on low add the cheese to the dough, mixing only until roughly combined.
- Tip out onto a well floured board and knead gently to bring together about six times. Pat out into a 5 by 10 inch rectangle which is about 1 inch thick.
- Using a sharp knife cut the dough into 8 biscuits, making 1 cup lengthwise and 4 crosswise. Place the rectangles onto the baking sheet leaving plenty of space between.
- Brush the tops of the biscuits with some egg wash, taking care not to let any drip down the sides. Sprinkle each with a bit of cheese and some flakes of salt if using.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes until well risen, golden brown and cooked through.
- Serve hot or warm.
Thank you so much for visiting. Do come again!
One of our favorite things to eat in my house are potatoes. The potato, quite simply, is my favorite vegetable. Not only are they one of the most versatile vegetables to have on the menu, but they are also one of the most delicious.
Who does not love a baked potato? Who doesn't love potato wedges? This recipe Baked Potato Wedges recipe I am sharing today is a delicious mash up of both!
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I actually shared my original recipe with you a while back, which was baked in the oven. That recipe serves 4 to 6 people. You can find it here: Baked Potato Wedges
Today I adapted that original recipe to feed just two people (small batch) as well as to make it air fryer friendly. It is just as delicious as the original but cooks in a fraction of the original time.
In the oven they take about 40 minutes, in the air fryer 25 max.
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The frozen food section of most grocery stores are filled with bags of frozen wedge potatoes. They are okay but trust me when I tell you that they cannot hold a candle to these delicious potatoes.
These potatoes are, first of all fresh, which is always better and secondly, they are brushed with a delicious mixture which, due to small cuts in the potatoes, penetrate to the very core of the potato.
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This makes for even more delicious potato wedges in my opinion. You don't really need a dip to serve them with, nor even ketchup.
But that of course is up to yourself!
Delicious to the core? Hot and crispy? Buttery? Done in a fraction of the time and from scratch? Count me in on all counts!!
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WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE AIR FRYER BAKED POTATO WEDGES
First of all you will need an air fryer. You can of course cook these in the oven, but they will take a bit longer. They really only take a few very basic ingredients.
- 2 TBS butter, melted
- 2 TBS of tomato ketchup (1/4 cup)
- 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1/4 tsp paprika (smoked or not as you wish)
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp freshy ground black pepper
- 2 large baking potatoes, unpeeled
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This is a recipe which I have had for a very long time. I can't really remember where I got the original recipe from, and I have to say I have never seen another one like it for potato wedges.
I used to use American mustard, but adapted it through the years to use Dijon in its place. I like the flavor of Dijon over American mustard. Its not as harsh and vinegary. It has a bit of heat, but its quite appealing flavorwise.
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If you do want a bit more punch, by all means use smoked paprika. Smoked paprika packs a bit of heat. Otherwise just use sweet paprika, the kind that you would sprinkle on your deviled eggs for a picnic.
I use regular Heinz ketchup and medium sized baking potatoes. No need to peel.
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HOW TO MAKE AIR FRYER BAKED POTATO WEDGES
These are really simple to make. The most complicated bit is cutting the slices into them prior to brushing them with the butter mixture and cooking.
But in reality that is not very hard to do at all, and happens very quickly.
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Preheat the air fryer to 375*F/190*C for 10 minutes. Combine the melted butter, ketchup, mustard and seasonings. Spray the air fryer basket with some canola oil spray.
Scrub the potatoes and dry well. Cut each into 4 wedges. lengthwise. Slash each wedge crosswise at 1/4 inch intervals, but don't cut all the way through the skin. Place into the air fryer basket, cut side up. Brush with 1/3 of the butter mixture.
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Cook in the air fryer for 20 to 25 minutes, brushing with the remainder of the butter mixture periodically.
They are done when the potatoes are fork tender with crispy browned edges. Serve hot.
Note - depending on the size of your air fryer you may have to do these in two batches. You can keep the first batch warm in a low oven while you cook the second.
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If you are interested in seeing a few other tasty potato recipes, might I recommend:
CRISPY BUFFALO BAKED POTATOES - With their crisp delicious skins and tangy sauce, these fabulous potatoes please on many levels.
AIR FRYER TWICE BAKED POTATOES - Who doesn't like a twice baked potato? Doing them in the air fryer halves the time and gets them nice and crisp.
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I the warmer months when you don't want to heat up the kitchen, this is a recipe which will come in really handy for when you are looking for a tasty side dish to serve alongside your other dishes.
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This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan@aol.com
Air Fryer Baked Potato Wedges
Yield: 2
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 25 MinTotal time: 35 Min
With fabulous flavor that penetrates through and through, these might be a little bit more of a fuss to make then regular potato wedges but trust me when say they are worth every bit of fuss. These are quite simply delicious!
Ingredients
- 2 TBS butter, melted
- 2 TBS of tomato ketchup (1/4 cup)
- 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1/4 tsp paprika (smoked or not as you wish)
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp freshy ground black pepper
- 2 large baking potatoes, unpeeled
Instructions
- Preheat the air fryer to 375*F/190*C for 10 minutes. Combine the melted butter, ketchup, mustard and seasonings. Spray the air fryer basket with some canola oil spray.
- Scrub the potatoes and dry well. Cut each into 4 wedges. lengthwise. Slash each wedge crosswise at 1/4 inch intervals, but don't cut all the way through the skin. Place into the air fryer basket, cut side up. Brush with 1/3 of the butter mixture.
- Cook in the air fryer for 20 to 25 minutes, brushing with the remainder of the butter mixture periodically.
- They are done when the potatoes are fork tender with crispy browned edges. Serve hot.
Notes
Note - depending on the size of your air fryer you may have to do these in two batches. You can keep the first batch warm in a low oven while you cook the second.
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