MORAVIAN GINGERBREAD COOKIES

These cookies are very moist and chewy. They have a strong gingerbread/molassas taste. Make them small so that the taster isn't overwhelmed. Nice dipped in applesauce as you eat.

Ingredients:

4.5 cups flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup butter
1.5 cups dark molassas (cut back to 1 cup if you want to make this milder)
1/2 tsp white vinegar

Directions:

1. Mix flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves and ginger together
2. In another bowl, mix butter and brown sugar until creamy
3. Add butter mixture into dry ingredients bowl and mix well
4. Add molassas and vinegar. Mix well
5. Cover bowl and chill dough overnight
6. With wet hands, form dough into small balls (dough will be sticky)
7. Press balls down onto non-stick cookie sheet, about 1/8th inch thick
8. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes at 350F - until lightly browned.




FYI- Moravia is next to Bohemia, both now part of the Czech Republic. It is north of Vienna and east of Prague. Moravia was independant in the beginning, then part of the 500 year rule of the Hapsburg family dynasty. In the beginning people spoke German and Czech dialects. Now it's mostly Czech. Towns and streets with German names were translated into Czech or renamed after WW2. This photo is of a MORAVIAN STAR, a popular "Germanic" decoration at Christmas time.