My Prairie Cookbook (32 page)

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Beat together the shortening, granulated sugar, and brown sugar in a large bowl. Add the peanut butter, eggs, and vanilla. Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl; add to the creamed mixture. Add the oats, bran flakes, and chocolate chips; mix well.

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Drop by rounded 2-tablespoon measures onto the prepared baking sheets, placing them 1 inch (2.5 cm) apart. Bake for 9 to 12 minutes, until the edges turn brown but the centers still look chewy. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer them to wire racks to cool completely.

We ate a lot of molasses cookies on
Little House
. You know—the great big store-bought kind with the grains of sugar on top! The flavor of molasses cookies brings back wonderful memories for me, so I created this recipe. If you can't find whole-wheat pastry flour, increase the all-purpose flour to 1¾ cups (220 g) and use ¼ cup (30 g) regular whole-wheat flour.

Makes 32 cookies

½ cup (120 ml) unsweetened applesauce

1¼ cups (250 g) granulated sugar

6 tablespoons (85 g) butter, softened

¼ cup (60 ml) dark molasses

1 large egg

1 cup (125 g) all-purpose flour

1 cup (115 g) whole-wheat pastry flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground ginger

½ teaspoon ground cloves

½ teaspoon salt

Cooking spray

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Spoon the applesauce onto several layers of heavy-duty paper towels, spread out to a ½-inch (12-mm) thickness. Cover with additional paper towels and let it stand for 5 minutes. Scrape the sauce into a large bowl using a rubber spatula.

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Add 1 cup (200 g) of the sugar and the butter to the bowl and beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until well blended, about 3 minutes. Add the molasses and egg and beat well to combine.

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Combine the flours, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt in a medium bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Gradually add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture, beating until blended. Cover and freeze the dough for 30 minutes, or until firm.

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Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Coat two baking sheets with cooking spray.

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With moist hands, shape the dough into thirty-two 1-inch (2.5-cm) balls. Roll the balls in the remaining ¼ cup (50 g) of sugar. Place them 3 inches (7.5 cm) apart on the baking sheets.

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Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer the cookies to wire racks to cool completely.

I'm a big fan of the oatmeal cookie, but, as I have stated in this book repeatedly, I have a deep aversion to raisins and nuts in my food. You might even say I'm raisin-and-nut-o-phobic. So I always leave out the raisins and nuts when I make these. You can add them in if you'd like. Just don't tell me about it.

Makes about 2 dozen cookies

1 cup (2 sticks/230 g) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar

1 cup (220 g) packed light brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour

1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

3 cups (240 g) quick-cooking oats

1 cup (240 ml) raisins and/or chopped nuts of your choice (optional)

•
In a large bowl, beat together the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla.

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Combine the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Stir the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture. Mix in the oats. If you are using raisins and/or nuts (if using), mix them into the dough now, combining well. Cover and chill the dough for at least 1 hour.

•
Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Grease two baking sheets. Roll the dough into 1-inch (2.5-cm) balls and place them 2 inches (5 cm) apart on the baking sheets.

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Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until light golden brown. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer them to wire racks to cool completely.

I am a ginger—I have a ginger melon!—and I love ginger! Gingersnaps, gingerbread, ginger candy, ginger ale, Ginger the castaway, my ginger husband (another melon!). Ginger beer, pickled ginger, crystallized ginger, ginger chews, minced ginger, ginger tea, ginger syrup, ginger perfume, ginger, ginger,
ginger
!

Did I mention that I love ginger?

Makes 6 dozen cookies

1¾ cups (385 g) firmly packed dark brown sugar

1½ cups (3 sticks/340 g) unsalted butter, softened

1 large egg

1 tablespoon grated peeled fresh ginger

½ teaspoon grated lemon zest

3¾ cups (465 g) all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons ground ginger

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon freshly ground white pepper

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

¼ teaspoon baking powder

2 tablespoons raw sugar

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Beat the brown sugar and butter in a large bowl using an electric mixer until smooth. Add the egg, fresh ginger, and lemon zest and beat well.

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In a separate large bowl, whisk together the flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, pepper, cloves, and baking powder. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the sugar-butter mixture, beating with the mixer until well combined. Form the dough into a large disk, wrap it in plastic, and chill for at least 4 hours or overnight.

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Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).

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Scoop out the dough in 1-teaspoon portions, roll into balls, and place them 2 inches (5 cm) apart on ungreased baking sheets. Press down hard with the base of a drinking glass dipped in flour to make thin rounds. Sprinkle the tops of the cookies with the raw sugar and bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until crisp and golden brown. Transfer the gingersnaps to wire racks to cool.