The Incredible Hulk of molasses cookies. Highly spiced with cinnamon, allspice, cloves, vanilla, and of course ginger, and sweetened with sugar and rich molasses, these are the best crinkle cookies, for holidays or anytime of the year. This recipe for these cookies is barely adapted from Cook’s Illustrated’s Best Recipe Cookbook, and is one of our favorites! Here’s a hint on preparation - don’t reduce the amount of sugar, the cookies won’t be chewy if you do (I found this out the hard way and had to make a second batch). Chilling the dough for at least 2 hours before baking isn’t required, but doing so will further ensure thicker, chewier cookies. Optional Glaze: When cookies have cooled, lay them out on a sheet of wax paper. Sift 1 1/4 cups of powdered sugar and then whisk with 2 tablespoons of milk until smooth. Dip a spoon into the glaze and dribble over the cookies. Vigorously whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and allspice in a bowl and set aside. Add the egg, vanilla extract, and molasses. Beat until combined, about 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Working with 2 tablespoons of dough each time, roll the dough into 1 3/4-inch balls. Roll the balls in sugar and place on ungreased cookie sheets, spacing them 1 1/2 to 2 inches apart. Do not overcook! The centers of the cookies should be somewhat soft and spongy when you take them out of the oven, otherwise they will end up hard and dry.
