Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups raw sugar, plus some for decorating
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup molasses
• 4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 Tbs baking soda
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 Tbs ground ginger
• 1 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 1 1/2 tsp ground allspice

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and 1 1/2 cups of sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs, and then the molasses.
3. In another bowl, combine the whole wheat pastry flour, baking soda, baking powder, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, and allspice, heaping the measures if you like a lot of spice.
4. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet mixture just until blended.
5. Roll the dough into small balls, and roll each ball into the remaining sugar to coat. Place the cookies about 2 inches apart on non-stick baking sheets. Flatten the cookies slightly with the bottom of a drinking glass.
6. Bake for 8-12 minutes in the preheated oven, until the tops are cracked. Bake longer for crispy cookies, less time for chewy cookies. Cool on wire racks.

Notes