You spicy little thing, you!

GINGER-MOLASSES COOKIES

Pour yourself a cup of Chai tea and slip one of these beauties onto your saucer - sit back, soothe your soul, and overdose on spices. The perfect way to spend a drizzly almost-Autumn afternoon.

My husband's favorite cookies are anything molassesy and gingery - so I couldn't wait to try these.

I have to thank the Del Sisters for the inspiration on this little sweetie. Soft, very gingery, rich, and just-right-sweet, these are really pretty FABulous!

I added brown sugar for moisture, thought I had whole wheat flour, but didn't, so used all white, and chilled the dough for 30 minutes to keep them from spreading all over creation. I really wanted a soft, chewy cookie this day instead of a crispy one.

These did not disappoint. Kind of chewy on the outside, but fluffy and cakey on the inside.

(I love to make BIG cookies - the bigger the better...and this seems to suit my family just fine.

At least no one has ever said, "Sheesh, mom...make smaller cookies, for gosh sakes." Nope. Have not once heard those words.)

UPDATE! - It's been a week and a half since I made this batch and kept them wrapped. They get better and BETTER as they age!! So moist, and the spices get more pronounced.

I think this may be my favorite molasses -ginger-spicey cookie ever. So far. For now....

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1/2 cup butter, softened

1/4 cup cream cheese, softened (I used reduced fat...worked great)

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 egg

1 tablespoon water

1/4 cup mild molasses

2 cups flour

1 tablespoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

In a large bowl beat the butter, cream cheese, sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, water, and molasses.

In a small bowl combine the flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, soda, and salt. Add all at once to the butter mixture and beat just until combined. Cover and chill dough for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Drop dough by a tablespoon or 1/2 cup - I don't care! - onto a baking sheet and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 10-12 minutes depending on the size, or until just set. (I made almost-1/3-cup size and baked for exactly 12 minutes. Perfect! I also re-sprinkled with sugar while still hot...just cause.) Cool on a wire rack.

I got 16 big, thick cookies.