Great cookie recipes are to be honored and shared, passed from friend to neighbor to cousin. This recipe was passed down from one of my pastry chefs, Kimberly Sklar, who got it from her best friend’s husband’s mother, who happens to live in Cleveland.

　　

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour

　　2 teaspoons baking soda

　　1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

　　1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

　　1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

　　1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

　　1/4 cup molasses

　　1 cup granulated sugar, plus extra for sprinkling

　　3/4 cup vegetable shortening, melted to equal 1/2 cup, cooled

　　1 extra-large egg

　　

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 325°F.

　　

Step 2

Sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and ginger. Stir in the salt.

　　

Step 3

In a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the molasses, sugar, melted shortening, and egg at medium speed for 3 minutes.

　　

Step 4

Turn the mixer off and add half of the dry ingredients to the bowl. Turn the mixer to medium-low and mix to incorporate, scraping down the sides of the bowl, as needed. Add the remaining dry ingredients and mix to combine. Chill the dough for about 15 minutes, to make it easier to work with.

　　

Step 5

On a lightly floured surface, roll half the dough out to 1/8-inch thickness. Use a 3-inch round cutter to cut out the cookies. Place them on a parchment-lined or lightly buttered baking sheet, spaced about 1 inch apart. Sprinkle a little sugar over the tops of the cookies, and bake about 12 minutes, until they puff up slightly and are starting to crack in the middle. The cookies will be crisp on the outside and chewy in the center.

　　Sunday Suppers at Lucques[by Suzanne Goin with Teri Gelber. Copyright © 2005 by Suzanne Goin. Published by Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved..Suzanne Goin graduated from Brown University. She was named Best Creative Chef by Boston magazine in 1994, one of the Best New Chefs by Food & Wine in 1999, and was nominated for a James Beard Award in 2003, 2004, and 2005. She and her business partner, Caroline Styne, also run the restaurant A.O.C. in Los Angeles, where Goin lives with her husband, David Lentz.Teri Gelber is a food writer and public-radio producer living in Los Angeles.](http://astore.amazon.com/epistore-20/detail/1400042151)