Summertime baking

What do you do when you're becoming anemic?

If you are me, you look for recipes with blackstrap molasses, of course!

(wait a minute, you're thinking. It's 100 degrees down there in South Carolina right now! Shouldn't you be sitting on chairs, drinking mint juleps and munching on cucumber sandwiches under a magnolia tree? What on earth are you doing BAKING???? Call me crazy....)

The NEW GOOD HOUSEKEEPING COOKBOOK has two great cookie recipes that call for molasses. Hopefully I'm allowed to print them here... if not, I'll take them down, but for now, pretend I've called you on the phone and given you these recipes, and you've just written them down:

GINGERSNAPS:
2 1/3 c flour
1/2 c sugar
3/4 c salad oil
1/4 c dark molasses
1/4 c maple (or maple-flavor) syrup
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cardamom (I didn't have this)
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg

This is a typical dump and mix recipe. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls into a separate bowl of sugar and roll them into little balls. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes. You'll be able to make about 44 cookies or so.

MOLASSES COOKIES

2 1/2 c flour
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c shortening
1/2 c molasses
1/4 c water
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg

Again, dump and mix. This dough will be VERY sticky. The recipe calls for you to refrigerate this dough for 1-2 hours, but truly, it didn't help all that much. I just did the same thing I did for the gingersnaps above -- dropped them by rounded teaspoonfuls into a bowl of sugar, rolled them, and placed them on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake them at 350 for 10 minutes. I was able to make 42 cookies out of this recipe.
Were they worth it?

The way my kids just chowed down on them, I'd have to say yes!