My friend Sheena is one of my favorite people.  We became friends through my sister.  She is the best friend of my sister’s sister-in-law (how’s that for a mouthful?) and when my sister met her, she called me and said “You need to become friends with this girl Sheena who I just met.  She is you.  It is creepy.  I’ve never met anybody so much like you in my entire life.”

So Sheena and I, both having our first baby at the time, met up for a playdate.  She was indeed like meeting a brown haired version of myself.  Think Monica on Friends. That’s who I’d pick if I had to describe my personality with a fictional character.   The rest is history, and I don’t want to get ahead of myself, but she has two boys and I have two girls and at least one of them is going to marry the other.  It’s already been decided.

Sheena’s always doing thoughtful things, and last year, she brought over the molasses cookies and oh. my. god.  They were the best ever.  She gave me the recipe, and I have made them about a hundred times since then, and now I’m finally sharing them with you.  They are soft and chewy and completely wonderful.  I’m sure you’ll like them as much as I do.

Chewy Molasses Cookies

Directions:
2 Cups flour
1 ½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground nutmeg
½  tsp salt
1 cup sugar
¾ cup unsalted butter (soft)
1 egg
¼ cup molasses
¾ cup chunky sanding sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
2. In a medium sized mixing bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Set aside.
3. Mix butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer (or large bowl with hand mixer) until combined. Beat in egg, and then molasses until combined. Add flour mixture.
4. Spoon dough and roll into balls between your palms, then roll in sanding sugar until all sides are covered.
5. Place on baking sheet about 3 inches apart, and bake until the edges start firming up. About 10-14 minutes.
6. Allow to cool on the pan for about 5 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack.