(Weird) Molasses Rye Cookies

The jury is out on these cookies from Christina Tosi’s Milk Bar Life cookbook. My brother outright spat them in the sink, my mom who never throws anything away stuck the leftovers in the freezer, and (not to stereotype, these are the facts) my Jewish friends loved them. 

So. I dunno. They’re interesting. I was curious, now I know. I’ll probably never make them again unless I get a special request.

Tosi describes them as a “manly” cookie that would go well with scotch. They’re certainly on the savory side of cookie-ness, and they’ve got a nice texture. I might actually like them without the caraway.

My mom didn’t have a spice grinder, and the recipe calls for ground caraway seeds. I discovered that caraway seeds do not take well to a mortar and pestle, so I had to go to town on them with a knife – which was messy and a pain and convinced me to invest in a spice grinder for my own kitchen.

So if you want to experiment with something unique (or if you’re Jason – who specifically requested the recipe), here ya go.

Molasses Rye Cookies (from Milk Bar Life by Christina Tosi)

Grade: inconclusive

• 8 Tbs (1 stick) butter, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1/3 cup molasses (ideally probably not blackstrap)
• 1 Tbs white vinegar
• 2 2/3 cups flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 2 tsp caraway seeds
• 1 tsp ground caraway
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger

Heat the oven to 350°F

Combine butter and sugar in bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and cream on high until homogenous, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and yolk and mix until just combined, about 1 minute. Add the molasses and vinegar and mix until just combined, about 1 minute.

Add the flour, baking soda, salt, caraway seeds, ground caraway, and ginger, mixing until just combined, about 30 seconds.

Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto a greased or lined baking sheet – just be sure to leave room for substantial spreading. Bake the cookies 8-10 minutes depending on size of spoonful – “until a manly, leather-like brown.” Cool completely on the pan.