I received this recipe at my wedding shower, and made it for the first time this year. I was shocked at how perfect they came out--like something you would buy in a bakery. I didn't even realize they were vegan until after I made them. Now if only my decorations were quite as professional-looking ...
Ingredients
- ½ cups molasses: 1 piece
- packed brown sugar: 1 cup
- vegetable shortening: 0.33333 cup
- water: 0.66667 cup (cold)
- all-purpose flour: 6 cups
- baking soda: 2 tsp
- ground cinnamon: 1 tsp
- ground cloves: 1 tsp
- ground allspice: 1 tsp
- ground ginger: 1 tsp
- salt: 1 tsp
- cooking spray:
Metric Conversion
Stages of cooking
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Combine molasses, brown sugar, and shortening in a large bowl; beat with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Add cold water and blend until smooth. (Shortening may separate a bit; this is fine.)
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Sift together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, ginger, and salt in a separate bowl. Add flour mixture to molasses mixture, blending until incorporated and dough is soft. Shape dough into 2 balls and place in the refrigerator until chilled, 10 to 15 minutes.
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.
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Working in batches, place one ball of chilled dough on a lightly floured surface and roll to 1/4-inch thickness, or 1/2-inch thickness for softer cookies. Cut out cookies with desired cookie cutters and place 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough.
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Bake cookies in the preheated oven until edges are firm, 12 to 13 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack immediately after baking to cool. Allow to cool completely if frosting.
