Sorghum Molasses Cookies

Soft, chewy, dark, and deeply spiced — sorghum cookies were the mountain Christmas cookie, the school lunch cookie, and the old man’s cookie. Made with dark sorghum instead of white sugar or light molasses, they had an earthy, mineral depth that no other sweetener could produce. Dense and substantial, two or three carried in a lunch pail provided real energy for an afternoon of hard work.

Ingredients

• ¾ cup lard or shortening

¾ cup sorghum molasses

• 1 egg
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp ginger
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp cloves
• ½ tsp salt
• Sugar for rolling

Directions

1. Cream lard and sorghum together until combined.

Beat in egg.

1. Mix flour, baking soda, spices, and salt together.
2. Gradually mix dry ingredients into wet until a firm dough forms.
3. Refrigerate dough 1 hour — it is much easier to handle when cold.
4. Roll into 1½-inch balls. Roll each ball in granulated sugar to coat.

Place on greased baking sheets 2 inches apart.

1. Flatten slightly with the bottom of a glass or your palm.
2. Bake at 350°F for 10–12 minutes. The cookies should look underdone — they firm up as they cool.
3. Cool completely before storing. They keep for weeks in a tin.

Notes

The key is not overbaking — sorghum cookies are best when still slightly soft in the center when removed from the oven. They firm to a chewy, dense texture as they cool. The sorghum’s complex mineral and bitter notes make these cookies far more interesting than those made with regular molasses or brown sugar.