Great Grandma Freeland’s Molasses Cookies A family recipe passed down now through three generations. I used to watch my mother roll and cut this dough with a huge, 4 inch round, scalloped cookie cutter, and dust them with granulated sugar. I remember treasuring each bite of these tender cookies. The recipe card is yellowed and stained, and is marked to make both full and half batches. No directions are included with the list of ingredients, so with cookie intuition I re-created how. Now I bake them using a heart shaped cutter, and send them to her. 1 c.                     2c. molasses   Brer Rabbit or Grandma’s brand traditionally used 1/3 c.                 2/3 c. shortening (I use quality margarine such as EarthBalance) 1/3 c.                 2/3 c. warm coffee or water 1  1/2 tsp.          3 tsp. baking soda 1/2 tsp.              1 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp.              1 tsp. ginger 1/2 tsp.              1 tsp. cinnamon 1/4 c.                 1/2 c. granulated sugar (or turbinado) may be omitted 2  1/2  c.             5 c. flour  (unbleached) additional sugar for top of cookies if desired In large bowl, thoroughly blend first four ingredients. In medium bowl, whisk together dry ingredients. In three batches, stir flour mixture into molasses mixture, completely incorporating each time. Chill dough until quite stiff. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On lightly floured surface, roll out to about a half inch thick. Cut into desired shapes, sprinkle sugar over if you like,  and bake on oiled or nonstick baking sheets 10- 12 minutes. Cookie should spring back in the center when done. Cool on racks. Note: If you like blackstrap molasses, for this recipe I suggest using half blackstrap and half honey for the liquid sweetener. The color of the cookie will be the appealing golden brown.