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Molasses

For many of us, the sweet, rich taste of molasses evokes images of comfort and home: Warm gingerbread cookies, shoo-fly pie, or bubbling baked beans.

Despite the fact that molasses is very "today," its American history dates back to 1493 when Columbus introduced it to the West Indies. Molasses became an important product in Colonial trade. It was the major sweetener used in America until after World War I because it was less expensive than sugar.

Molasses has a long history in American cooking. In fact, this staple was once so prized that the founders of the colony of Georgia offered 64 quarts of it to every person who survived a year there.

Baking was the most popular way to prepare food in the Colonies, so molasses became associated with baked goods: doughnuts, mince pies, pumpkin pies, ginger bread, baked beans, corn bread, countless cookies, and cakes. Maine children poured it over buttered bread for Sunday night supper, while molasses formed the base under the crumb topping of Pennsylvania Dutch shoofly pie. In England, any candy made of molasses was called toffee, which evolved into taffy in the Colonies, and a great Saturday night activity was a taffy pull.

Molasses is created during the refining of sugar cane, when juice is squeezed from the cane and boiled to a thick syrup. The first boiling produces mild light molasses. Dark molasses comes from the second boiling and is traditionally used in baking or for creating rich marinades. A third boiling creates Blackstrap molasses -- the bitter dregs of the barrel.

You can find molasses in your supermarket's baking aisle.

The Good in Molasses:
This food is very low in Saturated Fat, Cholesterol and Sodium. It is also a good source of Vitamin B6 and Potassium, and a very good source of Magnesium.

The Bad in Molasses
A large portion of the calories in this food come from sugars.

Recipe: Alaska Molasses Cookies

1/2 cup applesauce
1-1/4 cup sugar, divided
6 tablespoons butter, softened
1/4 cup dark molasses
1 large egg
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
Cooking spray

Spoon applesauce onto several layers of heavy-duty paper towels; spread to 1/2- inch thickness. Cover with additional paper towels; let stand five minutes. Scrape into a bowl using a rubber spatula.
Combine applesauce, 1-cup sugar and butter; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about three minutes). Add molasses and egg; beat well.
Lightly spoon flours into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flours and next five ingredients (flours through cloves), stirring well with a whisk. Gradually add flour mixture to sugar mixture, beating until blended. Cover and freeze dough 30 minutes or until firm.
Preheat oven to 375-degrees. With moist hands, shape dough into 32 (1-inch) balls. Roll balls in 1/4-cup sugar. Place 3-inches apart on baking sheets coated with cooking spray. Bake at 375- degrees for eight to ten minutes. Cool on pans five minutes. Remove from pans; cool completely on wire racks.
Recipe makes 32 cookies.
Nutrition information per cookie:
Calories: 88
Fat: 2.4g
Saturated Fat: 1.4g
Protein: 1/2g
Carbohydrate: 16g
Fiber: 0.7g
Cholesterol: 12mg
Sodium: 141mg
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