Back away from the cooling rack!

I am backing away from the cooling rack. I had a few self-control issues tonight with these yummalicious cookies that made the house smell SO Fall-ish. These are a twist on the typical spice cookie that is so perfect this time of year. These have Craisins in them. (Whenever fruits are used in cookies, that makes them "healthy", right?). Cookies right out of the oven are a weakness of mine to begin with, but then  I decided I would give some of these as gifts, so I figured I should try a few cooled ones to make sure they were also good. I'm pleased to report that these cookies are tasty at all temperatures. (Well, I didn't try them refrigerated yet... )

I am going  to my son's classroom tomorrow to help for a few hours, so I thought I would wrap up a few of these cookies to take to his teacher as a "Happy Friday!" present. I had a roll of cellophane in my wrapping paper box and cut a square of that, stacked  5  cooled cookies in the center and tied a ribbon around them. Everything looks just a little more special when wrapped in cellophane with a bow! I think I will wrap a "Happy Friday" cookie for each of my kids for their lunchboxes while I am at it. Here's the recipe for this tasty cookie that cries out "Happy Fall" (and in my case, also "Happy Friday!"). There's so much to love about baking with spices in the fall. Just be prepared with your will-power. These cookies are hard to resist!

Cranberry Spice Cookies

2 cups all- purpose flour

2 t. baking soda

2 t. ground ginger

1 t. ground cinnamon

1 t. ground cloves

3/4 t. salt

1 c. sweetened, dried cranberries

1 c. packed brown sugar

1/4 c. butter (1/2 stick), softened

1/2 c. shortening

1 large egg

1/4 c. molasses

sugar for rolling

Combine flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt in a bowl. Add cranberries and stir. Set aside. In a separate bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter, shortening and brown sugar until fluffy. Add egg and molasses and mix until blended. Add flour mixture, mixing just until blended. Cover bowl and refrigerate for one hour.

Preheat oven to 350. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Spoon sugar onto a plate or shallow bowl. Form dough into 1 1/4 inch balls (moisten hands if needed). Roll balls in sugar to coat completely. Place balls on prepared baking sheets 2 inches apart. Bake for about 12 minutes until cookies crack slightly on top but are still soft to the touch. Cool on sheets about one minute before transferring to cooling racks. Store in airtight container at room temperature.