Grandma Boeckenstedt's Molasses Cookies

This was a family favorite growing up. My paternal grandmother, Agnes Boeckenstedt (1887--1981) made molasses cookies that were a local favorite, according to my father. She had ten kids, and would apparently make these a gross (a dozen dozen, or 144) at a time. I seem to recall all my cousins loved them too. I know my late brother did...he once paid my aunt to make some and ship them to him.

Grandma didn't use a recipe, but her daughters learned how to make them, and my cousin managed to get the recipe from them. They are a soft, somewhat dry cookie when made properly, and they are sort of like the Latka Gravas cookie from Taxi: Once you start it's hard to stop eating them.

The recipe came to me just as ingredients and quantities, and it helped that I once helped my aunt Rose Agnes make them. So I present the recipe below, with my comments in italics. If you're an experienced baker, you might want to override my amateur attempts and uninformed tactics and let your experience lead you.

Grandma Boeckenstedt's Molasses Cookies

2 cups of brown sugar, packed
1 cup of lard (you can use Crisco if lard makes you skittish)
1 cup of sour milk (I used buttermilk)
1 cup of molasses
3 eggs (or egg whites..it's not clear...I used eggs, to get the more cake-like texture I remember)
3 tsp of baking soda dissolved in hot water
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
6 to 8 cups of sifted flour

That's all I have. Here's how I made them. Again, experienced bakers can chime in to help me where I might have made rookie mistakes.

Mix the wet ingredients and spices until well blended. Slowly start to add the flour, a half cup at a time to start, until the mixture stiffens. Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate at least two hours.

Roll out the dough on a well-floured work space to about 1/4 inch think. (Note: I used the full 8 cups of flour, and this was still sort of wet and sticky. It was hard to work with but manageable...still, I worried about using too much flour on the roll out.) 

Cut in circles (I used a mason jar ring) and bake on a greased cookie sheet about 20-23 minutes at 350. Cookies are done when they rise and are resistant to pressure on the edges. Move to a rack and cool.

Icing
The recipe I got simply says:

1 egg white
1 tsp Crisco
Vanilla
Powdered sugar

I suppose that's enough for experienced bakers, but I wasn't sure, so I used this recipe

2 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1 pinch kosher salt
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
2-2 ½ tablespoons heavy cream
gel food coloring (optional)

Instructions
• Combine powdered sugar, corn syrup, salt, and vanilla in a large bowl.
• Start by adding 1 tablespoon cream and whisk. (A wisk got clogged so I used a fork).Slowly add more cream a few drops at a time, whisking after each addition. If you add too much cream, add a bit more confectioner’s sugar and whisk.
• In order to get a completely opaque white icing with this recipe, you will need to add white gel food coloring. A little goes a long way, but it will add just enough opacity so you can’t see the cookie underneath. (I could not find white food coloring, so I skipped this.)

The result? I'm very happy with the result, and thrilled with the memories of grandma's cookies.