“Some people call these Molasses Krinkles because the tops of the cookies split during baking.” – Calla Ferre

“This recipe came from my best friend in college, Jeanie. Jeanie was from Milwaukee, and we would often take the train from Wisconsin to spend weekends with her family. Her dad would always meet us at the train station and bring us gardenias and a box of Whitman’s Chocolates.

Jeanie, Kathy and I all palled around together during college. We each came from different Protestant denominations: Jeanie, Baptist; Kathy, Lutheran; and myself, Methodist. We liked to attend church together; however, so we alternated between them. Except during the winter time, when we chose which ever was closer! And that was the Baptist church. We had a nosy family friend that would always rat me out when I wasn’t in the Methodist church on Sunday, and my father would call me furiously the next day to make sure I wasn’t getting into the ‘wrong crowd’! I explained the situation and he couldn’t say much, because my mother grew up Baptist. He eventually calmed down.

I made these quite often for my husband, Bob, when he was in Korea during the war. They traveled very well and still tasted fresh when they finally arrived.” – Jean Hansen

1940s Recipe – Jeanie Marx