Lumberjacks
Lumberjacks are a cookie from the Old Sturbridge Village Cookbook, and they reflect baking from 1830s New England.
1 cup caster sugar
1 cup white vegetable shortening or butter
1 cup dark molasses
2 eggs
4 cups sifted flour (not self-raising)
1 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
Cream together the sugar and shortening.
Add molasses and eggs, and mix well.
Sift together the flour, spices, and bicarbonate of soda. Add this mixture to the egg-butter mixture, and mix well to make a dough.
Put ¼ cup additional white sugar into a small bowl.
Dip fingers into the sugar, then pinch off a ball of dough and roll it into the size and shape of a walnut.
Roll the cookie dough ball into the sugar and place on a greased cookie sheet.
Repeat the shaping and sugar-coating process with the remaining dough, spacing the cookies about 3 inches apart on the sheet.
Bake in a preheated 350°F (175°C) oven for 10–15 minutes.
10–15 minutes
Let cool completely—the cookies should be soft when cooled.
- •Different countries use different strengths of molasses. If you can find the American brand of Grandma's dark molasses then that is perfect.
- •If you use some muscovado sugar, then add the white and muscovado sugars at the same time.