Friday, December 1, 2017

A Month of Christmas Baking: Lassy Mogs #FoodwaysFriday

Photo courtesy Rock Recipes.

December has begun, and Christmas is in the air. If you're anything like me, you've already started your Christmas baking. I love having a variety of cookies, cakes and baked goods for my guests over the holidays. So, for the month of December I will post various traditional Newfoundland recipes that are sure to please any crowd.

Molasses is a staple in the diet of Newfoundlanders, and lassy is simply short for molasses. The origin of 'mog' is a little less clear. Some people believe it means girl, while others say a mog is a small, slow rising cake. Historically, molasses were used as the main form of sweetener for baked goods in Newfoundland. White sugar was more expensive, and so it was saved for special use or for teatime.

Here is the recipe, which yields a dozen cookies (courtesy of Rock Recipes). You can alter the amount of molasses you use based on how dark you want your cookies to turn out.

Ingredients
  • 2 1/4 cups + 2 Tbsp flour
  • 1 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp powdered ginger
  • 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 tsp allspice
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 2/3 cup molasses
  • 2 tsp vinegar
  • 1/2 cup chopped dates chopped to the size of raisins
  • 1/2 cup raisins
  • 1 cup toasted pecan pieces

Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line 3 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
  2. First, toast the pecans at 350 degrees F so that they can cool to room temperature while you prepare the rest of the recipe.I toast whole pecans on a baking sheet for 10-12 minutes tossing them at the half way point. I then cool them and break each one into 2-4 pieces by hand. This little extra effort ensures nice big crunchy bits of pecan in every bite.
  3. Sift together the flour, baking soda and spices and set aside.
  4. Cream together the butter and brown sugar for about 5 minutes until light and fluffy.
  5. Beat in the egg for another minute or so.
  6. Blend in the molasses and vinegar. (The vinegar often occurs in old recipes as a way to boost eh rising action of baking soda.)
  7. Fold in the dry ingredients by hand and when almost incorporated fold in the dates, raisins and pecans.
  8. Drop the dough by rounded tablespoons onto the parchment lined cookie sheets about 2 1/2 inches apart.
  9. Bake for 14 minutes and let the cookies cool on the pan for 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
  10. Store in airtight containers. These cookies will freeze very well.

Enjoy, and let us know how they turn out!

-Katie Harvey

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