Spicy Molasses Cookies

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix sugar, shortening, molasses, and egg together until well combined. Dump in dry ingredients, stirring dry ingredients together lightly. Mix together until dough is combined. In your hands roll dough into walnut-sized balls, then generously coat each ball with sugar. Place balls on a baking sheet and bake for 9 to 11 minutes, allowing to bake for about a minute after cookies begin to crack. Remove cookies from baking sheet and allow to cool…though these are delicious while still warm. Fun variation: drizzle melted white chocolate in decorative stripes over the top of each cookie. Allow to harden before serving. Or: dip half of each cookie in melted white chocolate. Yum. Another fun variation: make sandwiches using two cookies and a scoop of cinnamon ice cream. Yikes. Another really fun variation: eat all the cookies yourself, then hide all the evidence.