This post is sponsored by Rubbermaid® on behalf of Everywhere Agency; however, all thoughts and opinions are my own.
Ah, tis the season to spread the sweetness, and there is NOTHING like Gingerbread Molasses Cookies.
They have that ginger molasses taste, a wonderful softness in the middle of crispy edges, and a bit of a kick too! That’s all top secret ingredient stuff, but of course I’m going to share it with you! And of course, that fun kid-decorated look is what makes these cookies so special. They’re meant to share and we are going to share all about WHY we share, WHAT we share, and HOW we share it. Sometimes I’m so busy and working such long hours, that I don’t stop to enjoy the sweetness of the season. This year? I’m taking control of my own holiday spirit. We are excited about these cookies and how yummy they are.
Not to mention how happy they’ve already made a loved one, that we’re going the distance. Cookies for everyone!
Last week, Des and Scarlet baked cookies together. I had received an ultimate cookie recipe book from my uncle last Christmas, and Cassidy had received an attachment for our mixer from my parents which would mean we wouldn’t have to scrape the bowl anymore. We were excited. I started to smell the cookies wafting through the house as I put some work stuff together and I followed the smell, entranced. We did a four-person taste test and loved the results. They were good. Great. And after we had all sampled at least one cookie, Scarlet said, “They’re good. So now we go and give them to everyone we know, right?” Now maybe not EVERYONE in this case, but I’m not surprised she said it. It’s a season of giving.
First, we went to Walmart to get festive TakeAlongs® holiday containers. They come in pretty gold, red, and green. Not only do these holiday containers come in those three colors, but they also come in patterned to help add a bit of cheer to holiday occasions. TakeAlongs® holiday containers are perfect for on-the-go holiday gatherings, cookie swaps, and my favorite – gifting baked goods to the people in our lives! And they come in assorted product sizes and shapes too.
The better to hold a variety of dishes, treats and snacks!
They are all tinted, yet translucent, and this allows for great visibility of your treats – while also adding a festive feel! You can get them all at Walmart! And that’s also where we go to get our ingredients for our Gingerbread Molasses Cookies.
Gingerbread Molasses Cookies:
What You Need:
1/2 cup butter, softened to room temperature
3/4 cup packed brown sugar (we used dark)
1/3 cup molasses
1 egg
2 Tbsp water
2 2/3 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp of ground cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice, each
2 tsp ginger
Decorations of choice
What You Do:
1 – Heat oven to 350° when you’re ready to bake
2 – Cream your dark brown sugar and softened butter until they’re light and fluffy, and then beat in molasses, egg and water
3 – In a separate bowl, whisk together remaining ingredients (except for candy toppings)
4 – Gradually mix the two bowls together and divide dough in half
5 – Shape each half into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes
6 – Lightly flour your surface and then roll out each dough disk
7 – Flour your cookie cutters as well and place cookies two inches apart on greased baking sheet
8 – Bake until insides are chewy and outsides are firm which takes about 8-10 minutes
9 – Cool, and decorate as you’d like
10 – Enjoy!
Decorating is really one of the fun parts, along with picking out your cookie cutters. I really thought we’d only do gingerbread men, but then the kids got way too excited about the variety of cookie cutters we have! Part of the fun of surprising people with cookies, is surprising them with all the fun cookie shapes – like moose and squirrels and stars and hearts!
And then we get them ready to gift! In our case, we gifted our cookies to Cassidy’s mom. She was alone for a week because her husband was traveling, and was feeling lonely and cold with the January-like weather that we got in November.
See how excited the kids are? And look at the awesome holiday containers! They’re totally festive and you can glimpse just a bit inside to see that there are colorful, heartfelt, handmade cookies just waiting to be gifted in there!
Seriously! I could not stop smiling for the longest time after doing that. Now we have big plans to do this several more times, with our neighbors (also Des’ teacher), our mailman, our regular package driver, and of course – the bus driver.
Don’t forget to look for TakeAlongs® holiday containers in pretty gold, red, and green!
So, what kind of treats would you make to spread the sweetness?
