Ingredients
- 2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp ground cloves
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup butter or margarine (1 stick), softened
- 1/3 cup dark molasses
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup dark seedless raisins
- 1 cup pecans (4 ounces), toasted and coarsely chopped (optional)
Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two large cookie sheets.
In large bowl, with wire whisk, mix flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, ginger, nutmeg, salt, and cloves.
In separate large bowl, with mixer at medium speed, beat brown sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Beat in molasses until well combined. Beat in egg. With mixer at low speed, beat in flour mixture just until blended, occasionally scraping bowl with rubber spatula. With spoon, stir in raisins and pecans if using.
Divide dough into quarters. With lightly floured hands, shape each quarter into 12" by 1 1/2" log. On each prepared cookie sheet, place 2 logs, leaving about 3 inches in between.
Bake until logs flatten and edges are firm, 13 to 15 minutes, rotating cookie sheets between upper and lower oven racks halfway through baking. Cool logs on cookie sheets on wire racks 15 minutes.
Transfer logs to cutting board. Slice each log crosswise into 8 bars. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
Recipe courtesy of Good Housekeeping Light & Healthy Cooking: 250 Delicious, Satisfying, Guilt-Free Recipes by The Editors of Good Housekeeping/Hearst, 2012.
