Christmas Cookies

• 1/2 cup Molasses
• 1 tsp White Sugar
• 1/2 cup Butter
• 1 1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour
• 1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
• 1 tsp Ground Ginger
• 1 tsp Cocoa Powder
• 1 pinch Ground Black Pepper
• 1 tsp Ground Clove
• 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
• 1 pinch Ground Nutmeg
• 1 pinch Cayenne Pepper
• 1 pinch Salt

• In a saucepan, combine butter and molasses. Heat the mixture over medium flame until it begins to boil, while stirring continuously.
• Remove the mixture from the flame and allow it to cool for sometime.
• In a large bowl, mix all-purpose flour, ginger, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, clove, cayenne pepper, black pepper, nutmeg and fold in salt. Blend the mixture well.
• Pour the warm molasses-butter mixture into the mixture made in the above step. Stir continuously to form a thick dough.
• Cool the dough in refrigerator for about 10 minutes, until it sets.
• Form small lemon sized balls of the dough, using 2 tablespoons of batter, each time. Now, pat the balls using your finger, to flatten them into the shape of cookies.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Grease a baking sheet with butter and place the cookies on it.
• Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for about 8 minutes.
• Cool the baked cookies in the baking sheet for about 5 minutes, before transferring them to wrack to cool completely.
• Store the cookies in an air-tight container.

• 1/2 cup Peanut Butter
• 1 3/4 cups All-Purpose Flour
• 1/2 cup Packed Brown Sugar
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1 tsp Baking Soda
• 1/2 cup Butter, softened
• 1/2 cup White Sugar
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1 Egg, beaten
• 2 tbsp Milk

• Sieve all-purpose flour, baking soda and sugar in a bowl and reserve.
• In a bowl, blend sugar, peanut butter, brown sugar and butter together with an egg beater, until it becomes fluffy. Fold in egg, milk and vanilla extract.
• Add the sifted flour mixture to the mixture prepared in the above step. Blend well, to form a dough.
• Shape the dough into small balls. Place the balls in your palm and using your fingers, flatten them to form the shape of cookies.
• Grease a baking sheet with butter.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for about 8 minutes.
• Remove the baked cookies from the oven and leave them in the sheet, for about five minutes.
• Transfer the baked cookies to a wrack and then leave them to cool completely.
• Store the peanut butter cookies in an air-tight container.