These orange molasses cookies are a delicious combination of molasses, ginger, cinnamon and orange zest sugar in a great cookie!
Pin these Orange Molasses Cookies for Later.
I love to bake cookies and I love to eat the cookies I bake. But I even love more, baking cookies and sharing them. Whether it is sharing with neighbors, friends, my Sunday School class, or as in this year, my new friends from the Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap. That’s right, Aimee and I both participated in this great cause for children’s cancer again this year. And so did many more bloggers; each developing, baking, and sharing a new cookie recipe to share on the blog with you.
I was pretty excited to share my Orange Molasses Cookies with Koko of Koko Likes and Kimberly of Bake Love Give. And I received wonderfully delicious cookies from Julie of Sweet and Spicy Monkey, Ashley of Big Flavors from a Tiny Kitchen, and Jessica of A Southern Mother. Craig and I loved each and every one of their cookies and can’t wait for the recipes. But you don’t have to wait for my recipe it is right here ready for you to make and bake.
I adapted my orange molasses cookies from a family recipe by adding the orange extract and orange zest. I love orange zest and making my orange zest sugar with quite easy and it brought just the right flavor in these orange molasses cookies. Right now I am imaging all kinds of recipes I can make with orange zest sugar. But what I am really imaging is you baking these cookies and eating these cookies and smelling all those yummy scents with the molasses, ginger, cinnamon, and orange zest sugar for both our delights.
Orange Molasses Cookies
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup shortening
- 1 1/4 cup sugar (divided)
- 3/8 cup hot water
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tsp ginger
- 3/4 tsp cinnamon
- 3/4 tsp cream of tarter
- 3 1/2 TBS apple cider vinegar
- 3/8 cup molasses
- 1 1/2 tsp orange extract
- 4 to 5 cups flour
- 3/4 cup finely chopped pecans
- 2 TBS orange zest - about 1 orange
Equipment
- Large Mixing Bowl
Instructions
- In a small bowl add 1/2 cup sugar and the 2 TBS orange zest, stir together, set aside for later
- Stir the baking soda into the hot water, set aside
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees
- Line cookie sheet with parchment paper
- In a large mixing bowl cream together shortening and 3/4 cup sugar
- Add orange extract to the creamed shortening and sugar
- Mix in the ginger, cinnamon, cream of tarter, salt, and molasses
- Stir in the vinegar
- Stir in the hot water and baking soda - the vinegar will cause this to bubble up for a minute
- Mix in 3 cups of flour
- Mix in 1/2 cup of flour at a time until the dough holds form and you can roll it into a ball
- Take 1 TBS of cookie dough and roll into a 1 inch ball
- Now you can choose to roll your cookie dough ball in the orange zest sugar, coating completely
- or roll your cookie dough ball in the finely chopped pecans
- Set on cookie sheet
- Continue until all the dough has been rolled into balls and dipped in orange zest or pecans
- Flatten each cookie ball with a spoon so it looks like a small thumbprint
- Bake for 8 minutes
- Remove from oven and cool on cookie sheet for 2 minutes
- Remove to cooling rack until completely cooled
- Store in an airtight container
We love them with milk too!
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