The Tiffin Tin

We made these incredibly delicious spice cookies this weekend — they’re everything you’d want in a holiday cookie: they’re extremely simple, it’s easy to make lots of them, and, when drizzled with a bit of glaze, they look like they’ve been snowed on! The recipe comes from Sunset magazine and it’s a keeper. Enjoy them.  (And go check out that Sunset link — there are lots of other cookie ideas on the website.)

• 1 cup granulated sugar (plus extra for rolling the cookies in)
• 3/4 cup butter, at room temperature
• 1 egg (also at room temperature)
• 3 tablespoons molasses
• 2 cups flour, sifted
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon cinammon
• 1/2 teaspoon each salt, ground cloves, and nutmeg

For the glaze:

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, cream 1 cup granulated sugar with butter until light and fluffy (about three minutes). Mix in egg and molasses.

2. In a medium bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, and spices. Add to butter mixture and blend well.

3. Fill a shallow bowl with granulated sugar. Break off walnut-sized pieces of dough and roll into balls; roll the balls in the sugar. Arrange on greased cookie sheets and bake until golden brown, about ten minutes. Transfer to racks to cool.

4. Make the glaze: Combine powdered sguar with water and stir until smooth. Stir in lemon juice. Drizzle glaze over cookies.