Cocoa-Molasses Cookies

Over the years, I've always been on the lookout for easy, tasty recipes for cut-out cookies. This is the best chocolate one I've ever found.

COCOA-MOLASSES COOKIES
1 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup molasses
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
3 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup baking cocoa

Vanilla glaze, optional

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in molasses, egg
and vanilla to mix well. Sift together flour, cocoa and salt; stir into
creamed mixture. Chill dough until easy to handle.

Roll dough rather thick, about 1/4 inch, and cut into rectangles with a
clean empty luncheon meat can, or use cookie cutters of your choice.
Place cookies 1/2 inch apart on lightly greased baking sheet.

Bake at 350° about 10 minutes.

Remove from sheets and cool on racks,
then frost with vanilla glaze if desired. Makes about 3 dozen.

I found this recipe in the Farm Journal Cookie Cookbook. The little blurb above the recipe says that these cocoa-molasses cookies are "long-time favorites in Dutch neighborhoods in the Hudson River Valley." Years ago I read the Trixie Belden series (set in the Hudson River Valley) to the kids, and later they enjoyed reading the books on their own as well. In one of the books a Dutch lady named Mrs. Vanderpoel served Trixie and her friends some cookies, and I've always wondered if these were the ones.

These cookies are yummy with a vanilla glaze but just as tasty without it. In fact, I almost never use it.

Moose and pine trees cut from this dough are really good!