Molasses Spice Cookies

Ginger snaps are by far, my favorite cookie!  Yes, I'm serious.  I could eat an entire box of them by myself (and have!).  I don't know what it is about them...the crunch, the molasses or the spicy ginger flavor?  That said, I think these molasses cookies are pretty awesome.  They're soft, sugary and spicy.  I finally broke down and bought some molasses and decided to make these cookies....and they smell AMAZING!

I combined two recipes that to come up with the one I ended up using.  They turned out pretty darn good, if you ask me, and weren't hard at all to make.  Plus, they smell like Christmas and are awesome with a cup of coffee.  The perfect fall cookie....

2 1/2 cups flour                                           1/4 teaspoon salt 3 teaspoons cinnamon                                 3/4 cup butter 3 teaspoons ginger                                        1 egg 3/4 teaspoons ground cloves                          1 cup brown sugar dash allspice                                               1/4 cup molasses dash nutmeg                                                 1 tsp vanilla extract 2 teaspoons baking soda 1/4 cup white sugar for dipping Mix together all dry ingredients; set aside. In a large bowl, beat butter and brown sugar. Gradually beat in egg, vanilla and molasses. Stir in dry ingredients. Refrigerate dough for about 30 minutes until firm enough to roll into walnut-sized balls. Roll in sugar. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 375º for about 10 minutes (I like them a little underdone). Squish while still warm, preferably with something that will make an interesting pattern (I tried a fork, but found the spatula to be the easiest. A meat tenderizer would look cool). ENJOY!!