Covered in Treacle

It seems like I have been baking like mad recently, partly I suppose because all the freshly baked cookies and cakes are so comforting in these dreary months (no matter how warm they might be). While I was searching for a recipe for molasses cookies, an image of Lyle's black treacle popped up.

Baby had actually brought some of this stuff, akin to gasoline, back to the states from a recent business trip to London. With some trepidation, I wrested open the can and curiously peered inside before setting to work to make what turned out to be the most delicious cookies! If you don't happen to have black treacle skulking around your kitchen cabinets, dark molasses will do. What I suggest doing: bake the cookies somewhere around 8-10 minutes and then press each cookie once with the back of a spoon before putting them back into the oven for another 5 minutes. This dries them out a little, and makes them harder, turning them into more of a crisp pantry cookie than the soft-ish variety.

Conversions courtesy of me, in italics.

Black Treacle Cookies
Black Treacle Cookies adapted from Chew Treacle Cookies by Karin Christian on All Recipes UK
Makes: approximately 72 medium sized cookies
Ingredients
305 grams unsalted butter (beurre doux) 2 1/3 sticks
400 grams caster sugar (sucre semoule) 2 cups of superfine sugar in the states; take granulated and throw it in your food processor for a few minutes until dusty
120 ml black treacle 1/2 cup
2 eggs (oeufs frais)
500 grams plain flour (type 55 farine) 4 cups
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (2 cuillère à dessert cannelle)
1 teaspoon nutmeg (1 cuillère à dessert muscade)
1 teaspoon ground ginger (1 cuillère à dessert gingembre)
1 teaspoon salt (1 cuillère à dessert sel)
granulated sugar for coating (sucre cristal)

Instructions
1. Melt the butter then let it cool to room temperature.
2. In a large bowl, beat together the melted butter, sugar, eggs, and black treacle. (Tip: Lightly grease your measuring device with vegetable oil before measuring out the black treacle so that it will slide out more easily.)
3. In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients.
4. Add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture in thirds, beating well after each addition. Chill dough for at least 3 hours.
5. Form the dough into walnut-sized balls and roll each ball in granulated sugar. Place on a greased baking sheet (or silicone baking mat) approximately 5 cm apart.
6. Bake cookies at 190 Celsius (375 degrees) for 8 to 10 minutes.