The Best Homemade Gourmet Cookie: Molasses Spice Cookies

Nothing fills a home with happy feelings quite like the scent of molasses spice cookies baking in the oven. The smell is so intoxicatingly wonderful and comforting that when delicious cookies come out at the end, they seem like a pleasant bonus.  I've spent a lot of time looking for a good, easy, inexpensive (ingredients-wise) molasses spice cookie, and ultimately ended up combining ingredients and tips from several recipes to create this one.  The cookies are crisp, rich, and rather dangerous in their addictiveness.  Bakers beware - these delicious cookies will disappear in a flash- maybe even before anyone aside from you gets to taste them!Aside from being addictive, these homemade cookies make for a wonderful gourmet gift around the holidays.  Make a bunch and share them with your friends and family!  

• 5.3 fluid ounces (roughly 2/3 cup) of vegetable oil (I recommend Canola)
• 100 grams (1/2 cup) of granulated sugar
• 90 grams (1/2 cup, packed) of brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 fluid ounces of molasses (1/4 cup)
• 240 grams (2 cups) of all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• A dash of salt and pepper (less than 1/4 teaspoon each)
• 65 grams granulated sugar (you'll roll your dough balls in this and use it for dusting - you might also consider Turbinado sugar for a nice touch and more granular finish)

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit or 177 degrees Celsius
2. Mix oil and sugar in a large bowl
3. Add the egg and vanilla and beat well
4. Mix in the molasses, flour, baking soda, and spices (you'll want a firm dough in the end, so add more flour if needed)
5. Use a melon-baller or spoon to shape the dough into little balls- about 1.25 inches in diameter.  
6. Roll the balls in your sugar
7. Place (with adequate space in between them- 3 inches is suggested - these cookies are definitely the spreading type) on a baking sheet- either greased or on Silpat (though to be honest, I never grease my baking sheets, and these didn't stick)
8. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until the tops look crisp and cracklely
9. Cool on a baking rack and CHOW DOWN!!

These cookies are lactose free, so that's a plus for those of you whose stomachs aren't so amenable to the stuff! They're also convenient for times when the butter is running low, since many alternate molasses spice cookie recipes call for over one stick.  To make these cookies vegan, simply use an egg substitute instead of real egg.
This recipe was altered from the Cracke Top Molasses Cookies recipe by Laurie on Allrecipes.com.  What's different?  I added black pepper, salt, vanilla, nutmeg, and brown sugar, and converted the traditional measures to weight for greater convenience.
One final warning: Wash your mixing bowl RIGHT AFTER FINISHING or else you'll end up scraping up all the remnants and feeling overloaded with cookie dough.  Don't succumb to the temptation.  You have been warned.