Molasses Sandwich Cookies with Ginger Buttercream Filling

.
At some silly event, I saw him.

All lithe and lovely and glossy haired, shaking his adorable booty on the dance floor. It was the hair that got me. Seriously beautiful auburn hair. When he took a moment to breath I sidled up and complimented him on it. He said it was natural, which caused me to go slack-jawed in amazement.

Then he laid it on me. "I cut hair! Here's my number, call me for an appointment!" And he was off.

I called the next morning and inquired about his first available slot. It was in an hour. Either that, or in three weeks. Well, needless to say, I sped over. (You'll notice I do this sort of thing with alarming frequency)

Two hours later I was glowing. I had become the most fab girl in all of Beverly Hills. Hair wise anyway. Bless him. It was the beginning of my most fulfilling love affair. (Seriously kids, you should never under-estimate how attached a girl can become to her hairdresser...)

He is, without a doubt, the foxiest boy in town and of course, he makes me giggle and feel fantastic. Plus, my hair has never been sassyier. Or bouncier. Bonus is that he is very discreet, so you can tell him pretty much anything and know it will be locked away, safe forever in his keep.

On the flip side, the boy at the station next to him has no such policy. And considering the proliferation of celebs at this joint I'm surprised. The gossip coming out of that man would make the editors at the National Enquirer blush. Too, too fun.

But I digress.

So a few months ago, we were chatting as he sculpted my hair into perfection, and I told him I do a lot of baking with my copious amounts of free time, but that I am constantly on the lookout for people to offload the goods on to. His big blue eyes lit up and he begged me to bring him a treat. How could I say no? He is just so pretty! (I mentioned he is probably no older than 25 and has an adorable BF of his own, right? Just checking.)

With that in mind, last week, in an attempt to get fab for the holidays, I showed up for my appointment, with these insanely over-the-top calorie dense cookies in hand. Spicy, sweet, buttery, hot. Just like him. (Am I terrible or what!)

Not exactly the quickest recipe ever, though it can be made in stages, it is very much worth it. I hope you will try them and see for yourself! The cookie itself is soft and (oh dear, every word I think of here sounds like soft core porn. Oh well. I hope my mother isnt reading.) and moist and heady, and the buttercream adds a deliciously decadant creaminess with a spike of heat.

Bring some to your hairdresser and see if you don't get an extra dose of attention...

1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1 extra-large egg
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 cup flour
3 cups flour1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon baking soda
1teaspoon cinnamon
pinch of salt
Frosting:
2 cups powdered sugar
7 tablespoons chopped crystallized ginger
4 tablespoons sugar syrup
2 cup butter

Melt the butter in large sauce pan over low heat then add the molasses and sugar and stir until the sugar melts. Remove from the heat.

When it is cooled a bit, stir the egg, vinegar and vanilla into molasses.

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, spices and salt, then stir into molasses mixture. Cover and chill 1 1/2 hours to firm.

When totally chilled, form the dough into 1-inch balls, and arrange on a buttered baking sheet. Flatten and chill again for another 30 minutes. (I know! Crazy!)

Preheat your oven to 325F.

Bake the cookies until just set, about 14 minutes. Remove from the sheet and let cool on wire racks.

Meanwhile, blend the frosting together until golden and creamy.Spread 1 tablespoon filling on bottom of cookie, smoothing to edges, top with another cookie and press down to seal.

Makes about 2 dozen cookies


___________________________

I guess I like sandwich cookies!

The forerunner of modern gingerbread was apparently an ancient Greek digestive aid. They would follow a big meal with a piece of ginger wrapped in bread. Over time, the ginger was incorporated into the bread. - Hungrymonster.com

On January 15, 1919, a large 50 foot high storage tank in Boston burst and sent a tidal wave of 2 million gallons of molasses traveling at over 30 miles per hour. Houses, buildings and parts of the elevated track system were crushed in its path. Twenty-one people died, and over 150 were injured. It took over 6 months to clean up the mess. The damage was in the millions of dollars. - Food Reference.com