1st Sunday of Advent - Christmas Baking - Molasses Cookies

While I was putting away our Thanksgiving dishes my daughter was baking in the kitchen and filling the house with Christmas scent. Oh, I wish you could have smelled it, too.  Cinnamon, gloves and ginger combined in a soft and chewy cookie. She decided to bake molasses cookies. This is our first Christmas cookie of the season. It tasted to me like a mixture of Lebkuchen and Magenbrot. Absolutely delicious.

Enjoy also your 1st Advent Sunday afternoon with some home baked molasses cookies and a nice cup of tea. Finally, Christmas season has arrived!

Makes about 20 - 24 cookies.

Ingredients:

*  3/4 cup ( 170 g) butter, melted
*  1 cup (200 g) sugar
*  1 large egg
*  1/4 cup (60 ml) molasses
*  2 cups (250 g) flour
*  2 teaspoon baking soda
*  1/2 teaspoon salt
*  1 teaspoon cinnamon
*  1/2 teaspoon cloves
*  1/2 teaspoon ginger

to roll the cookies in:
*  1/2 cup sugar

Directions:

Mix the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and cloves. Set aside.

In a kitchen machine set on medium speed mix together the butter, sugar and egg until smooth. Add the molasses and combine well. Set kitchen machine on low and add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients until just combined. Don't over mix.

Cover and chill the dough in the fridge for about an hour.

Preheat oven to Convection 375 F. Line two baking sheets with silicon pads or baking paper.

Roll the dough with your hands into walnut sized balls. Roll the balls in sugar and place them on the prepared baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake for 8 - 10 minutes. Cool on wired racks.

Adapted from allrecipes.com.