Chewy Pumpkin Molasses Cookies

I am so excited for the holidays. I KNOW! It’s only November, don’t kill me. I’m not one of those people who belts out Christmas carols and sets up their tree two months early. I’m really not!

I roll my eyes when I see the malls filled with Christmas decorations in MID-OCTOBER (waaaay too early!) and I have a rule that my house can only be decorated (tree, decorations, holiday music) for one month. Set it all up December 1st, take it all down January 1st. December is holiday month, nothing more, nothing less.

But the thing is, being a food blogger means I have to be one step ahead of the game. At least with my food. In order to have holiday food posted in time for the actual holiday, I need to start early. So while my tree and EllaFitzgerald holiday music may not fill my house for another month, my holiday baking is well underway. 

I sat down the other day and made an actual list of all the things I want to bake in time for the holidays. Baking? Lists? Being super organized? Oh hell yes, two of my absolute favourite things. 

Now, on to today’s posts. It’s the first of many holiday-esque posts I have lined up, and it’s a goodie.

I’ve been craving a big, chewy, ginger cookie. You know the ones: they smell of cinnamon and tangy molasses, and are 100% amazing when paired with a big glass of milk.

These cookies are just that. My first batch was a little firmer and a little more pumpkiny in flavour. They were good, but not exactly what I was craving. I perfected my latest batch and they’re the perfect mix of bitter gingerbread / chewy cookie. They’re almost like muffin tops in shape and texture.

I threw in a bit of pumpkin puree out of curiosity, and while you can’t exactly taste the pumpkin, it helps keep these cookies wonderfully moist, even days after baking.

Now, I won’t keep you. Happy Friday, now go enjoy your weekend! I know what I’ll be doing, and it involves a lot of flour, butter, sugar, and mixer time.