Double Fudge Brownie Murder (Hannah Swensen series Book 18) (17 page)

SECRET SPICE COOKIES

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position.

2 cups all-purpose flour
(pack it down in the cup when you measure it)

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground allspice

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup white
(granulated)
sugar

cup tomato ketchup
(I used Heinz)

¼ cup salted butter
(
½
stick, 2 ounces, 4 Tablespoons)

¼ cup vegetable oil

¼ cup molasses

1 large egg, beaten
(just whip it up in a glass with a fork)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

¼ cup white
(granulated)
sugar for coating the dough balls prior to baking

 

Either spray your cookie sheets with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray or line them with parchment paper.

 

Place the flour in the bowl of an electric mixer
(or in a mixing bowl if you want to stir the cookie dough by hand, but it’ll take some muscle)
.

 

Sprinkle in the baking soda and turn the mixer to low speed to combine them.

 

Add the ginger, cinnamon, allspice, and salt. Mix them in at low speed.

 

Mix in the granulated sugar at low speed.

 

In a microwave-safe bowl, combine the ketchup, butter, oil, and molasses. Heat the mixture on HIGH for 30 seconds or until the butter has melted.

 

Let the bowl sit in the microwave for another 30 seconds and then stir to combine the ingredients.

 

With the mixer running, add the ketchup, butter, oil, and molasses mixture. Beat until thoroughly combined.

 

Add the egg and mix it in at medium speed. Then mix in the vanilla extract and beat until all ingredients are thoroughly combined.

 

Take the bowl from the mixer, scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula, and give the bowl a final stir by hand.

 

Place the ¼ cup sugar in a small, shallow bowl.

 

Using a small scooper
(Lisa and I used a 2-teaspoon size at The Cookie Jar)
, form dough balls from the cookie dough. If the dough isn’t firm enough to do this, cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate it for one hour.
(Don’t forget to turn off your oven if you do this!)

 

Roll the dough balls, one at a time, in the bowl of sugar to coat them. Then place them on a prepared cookie sheet, no more than 12 cookie dough balls to a standard-size sheet.

 

Hannah’s Note: Lisa is going to try rolling some dough balls in powdered sugar the next time we bake these. She thinks it’ll have a different visual effect, but we may miss the crunch of granulated sugar.

 

Bake the Secret Spice Cookies at 350 degrees F. for 10 to 12 minutes or until the cookies are golden brown around the edges.

 

Take the cookies out of the oven and let the cookie sheet sit on a cold stovetop burner or a wire rack for 2 minutes. Then pull the parchment paper off the cookie sheet and onto a wire rack to allow the cookies to cool completely.

 

Yield: approximately 3 dozen tasty cookies, depending on cookie size, spiced with a secret ingredient that no one who didn’t watch you make them will be able to identify.