Molasses Cookies seem just perfect for this time of year; spicy sweet with a hint of the merriment to come. This recipe comes to me round-about via a friend’s Facebook page where I learned that his grandfather lives in the house once owned by the famous mystery & horror writer, Shirley Jackson. She is best known for the short story The Lottery (1948), which suggests a secret, sinister underside to bucolic small-town America. In her critical biography of Jackson, Lenemaja Friedman notes that when The Lottery was published in the June 26, 1948, issue of The New Yorker, it received a response that “no New Yorker story had ever received”. Hundreds of letters poured in that were characterized by, as Jackson put it, “bewilderment, speculation, and old-fashioned abuse.” (from Wikipedia) Her famous stories include: The Lottery, The Haunting of Hill House, and We Have Always Lived in the Castle.
We dare you to try this recipe for molasses cookies, named for Jackson’s eery novel, “We Have Always Lived in the Castle”, the final novel by Shirley Jackson, published in 1962, three years before her death in 1965. (Wikipedia) There is nothing quite like curling up with a scary book on a dark, blustery night. May as well have a big plate of spicy molasses cookies to enjoy while you read. And then double-check that you have locked the doors and sleep tight!
http://yummy-books.com/2013/10/27/we-have-always-lived-in-the-castle-spicy-molasses-cookies/
