Sister Minnie’s Soft Ginger Molasses Cookies
A delicious recipe for soft ginger molasses cookies from the old Shaker Colony in Alfred, Maine. It closed for good in 1925.
By Yankee Magazine|Oct 29 2021|
Sister Minnie's Soft Ginger Molasses Cookies
Photo Credit: Aimee TuckerAn old-fashioned recipe for soft ginger molasses cookies from the old Shaker Colony in Alfred, Maine, now but a memory. It closed in 1925.
Yield
40 large cookies
Ingredients
2-1/4 cups flour
2 level teaspoons soda
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup molasses
1/2 cup warm water (not hot)
raisins as desired
Instructions
Cream the shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the unbeaten egg and molasses and beat well. Sift the flour, soda, salt, and spices together. Add a little at a time to the creamed mixture, cutting in a few raisins at the same time. Add the water. Drop by small teaspoons on an ungreased baking sheet. Sprinkle with sugar and put a raisin on each cookie. Bake in a 375 degree F oven for 15 minutes or until browned.
I’m so excited! I’m going to bake your soft Ginger cookies for my parents—they are in their 80’s and will love them!!
These are delicious cookies, I remember in Northern Maine when my grandmother made these.
Sr. Minnie moved to the Shaker community at Sabbathday Lake after the Alfred village closed and lived out her years there, baking many molasses cookies and loaves of whole wheat bread and knitting scarves for the Shaker Store
My Mom always made cookies like these. Thanks for the recipe.
I like to incorporate golden raisins in mine.
Has anyone tried them using unsalted butter? I’m not a shortening fan but do realize sometimes it is required to reach the desired results.
I bake all of my cookies with butter, except molasses cookies. Just doesn’t work.
I bake my molasses cookies (different recipe) with butter, and they are VERY popular with my friends. To each his/her own, I guess.
When recipe calls for shortening, do you use Crisco?
Yes, I have always found that best for molasses cookies.
Soda?
Baking soda, dry, usually Arm & Hammer
Baking soda
Very similar to my mom’s crinkly molasses cookie. No raisins and rolled in sugar. Yum! Butter crisco works best for her recipe and it might for these as well.