Spice-of-Life Cookies 

Excerpted from Chopping Spree, copyright 2002 
by Diane Mott Davidson by permission of Bantam 
Dell Publishing Group, a division of Random 
House Inc.  All rights reserved.

Available on Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0553107305/wburorg-20/102-1624954-6480103
 

Ingredients
2	  cups all-purpose flour
2 	  teaspoons baking soda
1/4   teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2	  teaspoons ground ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
1/8   teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4   cup solid vegetable shortening
1/2   cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1	  cup sugar
1     large egg
1/4   cup molasses
1/4   teaspoon very finely minced lemon zest

Directions:

1.	Butter 2 cookie sheets.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. 

2.	Sift together the flour, soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg. Set 
aside

3.	In a large mixing bowl, cream the shortening, butter, and sugar until very light 
and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Beat in the egg, molasses, and zest until well 
combined. Stir in the flour mixture until well combined, with no traces of flour 
visible.

4.	Using a 1 tablespoon scoop, measure the cookies onto the cookie sheets, 
keeping them 2 inches apart. Do not attempt to make more than one dozen per 
sheet. Bake the batches one at a time, just until the cookies have puffed and 
flattened and have a crinkly surface, 9 to 12 minutes per batch. Cool the cookies 
for 1 minute before moving to racks

5.	Cool the cookies completely on racks. Makes 32 cookies