I was given this recipe by a wonderful old - young man who was a patient of mine in a nursing facility where I worked as a charge nurse. His mother had passed it on to him in the early 1900s. He told me that even though as children his seven sisters and brothers didn't get gifts for Christmas, as long as they got fresh baked Molasses cookies, they were grateful.

It has become the old fashioned quintessential Christmas cookie that all my family and friends look forward to receiving from me every year. They are best if not over baked so they are still chewy even after cooling, but they do warm up nicely in a microwave later. Molasses cookies impregnate the whole house with the aroma of an old fashioned Christmas and are reminiscent of simpler times all year round.

Mix 3/4 cup shortening with 1 cup sugar and 1 egg

Add to the above 2 cups flour, 2 tsps soda, 1/2 tsp cloves, 1/2 tsp ginger, 1 tsp cinnamon and 1/2 tsp salt.

2/3 cup of mollassess

Mix (I use my hands) and chill the dough for at least an hour.

Grease a cookie sheet lightly and roll the dough into balls 3/4" - 1" in diameter.

Put 1/2 cup sugar in a shallow bowl, find a glass with a flat bottom and use a little dough to moisten the bottom of the glass. Place the balls of dough on the cookie sheet, dip the bottom of the glass in the sugar and use it to press the balls down to a circle (but not too thin), they will thin our further while baking - creating a bigger cookie.

Place in 350° oven for 5-6 minutes, remove just a minute or two after they have risen, the tops will still be soft and may even not look completely done, but this is what gives them the chewy quality that says "homemade" to all your guests. These cookies also freeze beautifully, and the dough can be kept in the refrigerator for several days and baked as you need them.