Vegan Molasses Cookies

My family has been making these molasses cookies for years, using a photocopied page from an old issue of Cook's Illustrated. After a bit of trial and error, I figured out a fairly simple way to make them vegan. These cookies absolutely put the "spice" in "molasses spice", and use a blend of five different spices to create a complex counterpart to the dark molasses flavor.

Modified From:

• Cook's Illustrated, 2002 Vol. 1, p.77

Yield:

~32 small cookies (2 sheets)

Time:

Making dough: 25 min

Baking: ~30 min.

Ingredients:

Dry Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups (319 g) all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp ground allspice
• 1/4 tsp finely ground black pepper

Wet Ingredients

• 1/3 cup (65g) granulated sugar, plus another 1/3 cup for dipping
• 1/3 cup packed (71g) dark brown sugar
• 3/8 cup (77g) vegetable shortening
• 3/8 cup (88g) fake butter
• 1.5 tsp egg replacer (e.g. Bob's Red Mill brand)
• 1 tbsp water
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup (170g) molasses.
• Light/mild molasses is recommended though you can also try dark. I prefer "Grandma's" brand.

Directions:

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper on top of a silicone mat. While not absolutely required, the silicone mat is highly recommended to insulate the bottoms of the cookies and keep them from burning. Place the 1/3 cup of sugar for dipping in a mixing bowl or cake pan.
2. Whisk everything in the Dry Ingredients section together in a mixing bowl and set aside.
3. Measure the vanilla and molasses and set them next to the mixture. Combine the egg replacer and the water in a small and mix together with a fork or mini spatula.
4. Add the butter, shortening, and sugars to the mixer and beat on medium-high until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
5. Reduce speed to medium low and add the egg replacer mixture and vanilla, then increase speed to medium and beat until incorporated (about 20 seconds).
6. Reduce speed to medium low and add the molasses, then beat until incorporated (about 20 seconds).
7. Stop mixer and scrape down the sides with a spatula.
8. Turn the mixer to its lowest setting and add dry ingredient mixture gradually. When finished, stop the mixer and scrape down the bowl again. Then, beat on low until just incorporated, about 30 seconds. Finally, remove from mixer and give the dough a final stir with the spatula to ensure that no pockets of flour remain at the bottom.
9. Using a dough scoop or a spoon, measure out balls of dough about 1 to 1.5 inches in diameter. Roll each ball in the dipping sugar until it's coated, then place it on the baking sheet without flattening it out.
10. Once a sheet is full of cookies, bake it in the oven (one sheet at a time) for 11 minutes. When done, the cookies will be browned and puffy, and the edges will have begun to set but the centers will still be soft. The cookies will finish baking on the sheet once removed from the oven, so allow them to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to another dish (or eating them!).
11. Repeat until all cookies are done!