I'm a Lumberjack and I'm ok

Despite my professed love for the chocolate chip cookie, today's soft but crispy, sugar topped molasses cookie is right up there among my favorites. Don't get me started on how good this dough is in its uncooked state.

This cookie - the Lumberjack - came from an Old Sturbridge Village cookie recipe book that one of my sisters has had for probably close to 30 years. I've tweaked the original recipe a bit, updating the sugar topping (I use Tubinado for the top for bigger sugar crunches) and fiddled with other ingredients from time to time.

Ultimately this is just an easy, dependable, and most importantly, delicious recipe. Most ingredients are always in the pantry and the dough freezes exceptionally well.



Lumberjack Cookies
Adapted from an Old Sturbridge Village recipe book (and from Mary's recipe card)

Ingredients
1 cup white sugar
1 cup shortening (I use Crisco butter flavored. I know, not the purest of ingredients, but it works well)
1 cup dark molassess
2 eggs
4 cups flour, sifted (or not, if you don't feel like it)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger

What to do
Cream together the sugar and shortening in stand mixer on medium high until light & fluffy. Reduce to lower speed and add molasses, then add eggs one at a time. Mix until well combined.

Sift or mix together dry ingredients, then slowly add to wet ingredients while mixer is on low. Mix until combined. Resist eating too much dough at this stage.

At this point, I like to refrigerate the dough for a while, it will make it easier to roll into little balls. I think you get a better cookie starting with colder dough. Putting this dough in the freezer for awhile speeds up your process.

 When you freeze this dough, due to the shortening, it doesn't get rock solid. It is roll-able right out of the freezer. I'll get the oven preheating while I roll out the cookies and pop them in while still chilled. I think starting with frozen dough yields the best results for this cookie. Cooking time may need to be a bit longer when using frozen dough.

When you are ready to roll out the cookies, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Roll dough into walnut-sized balls, then roll the balls in sugar. You can use plain white sugar, but I like a bigger grain sugar. I think the bigger grain sugar adds a better crunch and since these tend to be a darker sugar, adds a little toasty caramel taste to the cookie.

Bake on ungreased cookie sheet for 12-15 minutes. When done, the cookie will have some cracks in the top, but will still be a bit soft when tested. I like to bake these cookies using the convection bake option on my oven. I think it helps create a crisper crust with a soft inside. If I use convection, I'll reduce the cooking time a bit - maybe to 9 - 11 minutes.

Walnut sized cookies will yield about 4 dozen. I've used a small sized ice-cream scoop (about a 2 tsp volume) and got closer to 5-6 dozen.

Some successful modifications I've tried (I've tried these independently, not all in the same batch):
- Add a heavy teaspoon of vanilla extract
- Use a combination of honey and molasses (I think I used about 2/3 molasses and 1/3 honey)
- Add some instant espresso powder. Start small and taste frequently as you go. Be aware that the flavor will strengthen as the cookie bakes.

Some other ideas that I haven't tried:
- Toss in some raisins or other dried fruit, maybe some lemon or orange zest
- Add some nuts
- Use a combination of brown and white sugar.