jam jams
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jam jams

Filled with molasses and not much else (only 8 ingredients in total) these cookies are simple, decadent and go perfectly anytime, day or night. They are especially good if allowed to sit for a few days...but they very rarely last that long once anyone knows they are made.

ingredients:

  1 cup shortening
  1 cup brown sugar
  8 tablespoons molasses
  1 teaspoon vanilla
  2 eggs
  4 cups flour
  2 teaspoons baking soda
  about ¼ cup raspberry jam for filling

directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 F.

2. Blend shortening and sugar then add molasses, vanilla and eggs - blending well between each addition.

3. Add flour sifted with baking soda and mix to combine. The dough is easy to handle - roll it quite thin and cut into rounds.

4. Bake on a parchment lined or greased baking sheet in preheated oven for about 6 or 7 minutes - keeping an eye on them because they go from baked to over-baked in mere seconds.

4. While they are still warm, put two together with raspberry jam spread between them. They become soft and keep well...if somone doesn't eat them all straight away!

after-thoughts:

The orignal recipe calls for a cup of lard and sometimes my mother still makes them this way but I have updated it and used shortening. Also my mom usually substitutes in whole wheat or even flax seed flour to make them a bit heartier - and it works really well.

recipe origin: Based on a recipe from Edna Staebler's "Food that Really Schmecks"