Grandma Moses' Molasses Cookies

Yes indeed I did have a Grandma Moses!

Molasses was on everyone's kitchen table, ready for bread and molasses after dinner with a cup of tea.
Gram's house was no different.  I have very fond memories of the smells from her oven, fresh bread, baked beans and of course molasses cookies.  After a recent Texas trip and an unscheduled stop in a one horse town and $18 worth of home baked molasses cookies later, I knew I had to resurrect the recipe.


1 cup molasses
1 cup sugar
1 cup melted shortening
4 tsp baking soda
4 Tbls hot water
2 tsp cream tarter
2 tsp cinamon
1 tsp allspice
1 heaping tsp ginger
1/2 tsp  salt
2 eggs
4 cups flour

Mix shortening, sugar, molasses, eggs to creamy batter.  Dislove soda in hot water and add to batter.  Mix flour, cream of tarter, cinamon, allspice, and ginger.  Add dry ingredients to batter to make thick dough.  Roll dough to 1/2 inch thickness.  Form cookies with 6"cutter.  Bake on greased cookie sheet at 375 for approximately 10-12 minutes.  Best warm out of the oven

Tomato Pie

Some of the neighbors tomatoes made it through our last frost and needed to be "used up"

1 pie crust
4-5 large tomatoes cut in half, seeds and water squeezed out and sliced
4 slice bacon cooked and crumbled
4 green onions sliced
1/4 cup fresh basil chopped
2 cups grated cheese, your choice I like a sharp cheddar
1/4 cup mayonaise
plenty of ground pepper
head of roasted garlic or clove garlic minced

Have tomatoes as dry as possible by either laying slices on paper towel or salting in a colander
Line 9" pie pan with crust
Layer tomato, onion bacon basil and pepper and repeat
Mix cheese mayonaise and garlic.  Spread on top of pir

tent with foil sprayed with non stick spray
Bake at 375 x 30 mins, uncover and bake 30 mins longer