Original spice list: ginger, allspice, cinnamon, cloves (1 tsp of each)
My spice list: cinnamon, garam masala (the Indian spice blend), nutmeg, ginger, and cocoa powder
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup molasses
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 cup butter, cut into 8 pieces
- 1 egg, beaten
- 3 cups flour plus more for dusting
In a medium saucepan, heat the sugar, molasses, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, garam masala and salt. Stir constantly until it comes to a boil. Immediately remove from heat and stir in the baking soda. The mixture will become light and foamy; next, stir in the butter, mixing until it melts. With a fork, stir in the egg and then the cocoa powder. In 3 - 4 doses, add the flour to slowly incorporate it into a dough. Dust a work space with a little bit of flour and dump the dough out, using your hands to knead it into a ball. If the dough feels too sticky, add a bit more flour and continue to knead.
Go ahead and preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Divide the dough into two pieces and work with one at a time. To make rolling out the dough a lot easier, put a big piece of plastic wrap over the dough. This keeps the rolling pin from getting dirty and sticking to the dough. Roll the dough to a 1/4 inch thickness. Use your favorite cookie cutter to cut into shapes, and repeat the rolling process for the excess cutout dough. Bake the cookies for 8 - 10 minutes. If you like them crisp then keep them in longer! I like to decorate with royal icing, and Alton Brown has an easy recipe on Food Network's website (Royal Icing recipe). I've successfully made 1/3 of the recipe since it makes a TON of icing. Make sure the cookies are cool before icing them. Happy Holidays!!
