Best Chewy Molasses Cookies Ever!

       My DH is a chef but in our household I do most of the baking (with the exception of cinnamon rolls) as I have the bigger sweet tooth and a secret weapon  - my grandmother's recipes.  When I bake cookies I usually make family favorites that have been made in our family for many decades but when I saw this recipe on the King Arthur Blog I had to try it.

        They call them Cape Cod Soft Molasses Cookies.  I call them The Best Chewy Molasses Cookies Ever.  

        The recipe intrigued me because it uses crystallized ginger.  I love the spicy sweetness of crystallized ginger and will eat it plain.  This recipe called for finely chopping it and adding it to a batter that includes some oatmeal as well.  I was hooked.  

         I pretty much followed the recipe:  http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/cape-cod-soft-molasses-cookies-recipe .  I was out of allspice so I used a teaspoon of Penzey's baking spice.  No fresh ginger in the house either so used powdered ginger.  And, because I love vanilla I added just a dash.  The cookies turned out perfect!  Just the right amount of chewy satisfaction with a spicy kick.  Two days later they still taste as good as they did out of the oven.  Best of all it took under an hour to mix these and back them and clean the kitchen.  

          My pictures are not too good but the cookies rock!  Might compete for time in the baking rotation with Grammy B's extra thin ginger snaps...  Try them.