Sorghum

I am not a fan of molasses.   Any time I've tasted molasses it has had a bitter aftertaste I didn't care much for.   However, I am a BIG fan of sorghum.   It looks kinda like molasses, but has a much better flavor in my opinion and can be substituted for any recipe that calls for molasses.   In fact, it is often called "sorghum molasses".     Sorghum isn't just tasty on hot biscuits, but also contains iron, calcium and potassium.   When I was growing up down in southeast MO, there was always sorghum on the table any time we had hot biscuits.   I can remember mashing butter and sorghum together and then slathering it all over a hot biscuit.   Larruping good as my dad would say.    Sorghum can be a bit hard to find, although most good health food stores will carry it.   The best sorghum, in my opinion, tends to come from small family run producers.   However sometimes you just have to take what you can get.    I use sorghum mostly in baking.   A friend on a chat site I frequent gave me a recipe for ginger cookies that are to die for.   I use sorghum instead of the molasses called for in the recipe.   Here it is:

Bink's Kick-Ass Ginger Cookies
(My additions are all in parentheses)
 
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2 cups sifted all-purpose flour

1 1/2 (4 tbsp.)  tablespoons ground ginger

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

(1/2 tsp. clove)

(1/2 tsp. ground coriander)

(1/2 tsp. allspice)

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup butter, softened

1 cup white sugar

1 egg

1/4 cup dark molasses (sorghum)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (275 degrees C).

2. Mix together flour, baking soda and salt.

3. In a separate bowl, beat the shortening until creamy. Add ginger and cinnamon and blend thoroughly. Add the 1 cup of sugar gradually and continue beating. Beat in the egg and the molasses.

4. Sift into this about 1/3 of the flour mixture, stirring and blending well. Repeat until all is added. Roll the dough into balls (about quarter-sized) by hand, then rolling each in a mixture of 1 tsp cinnamon in 1/3 cup sugar.

5. Place 2 inches apart on a ungreased baking 0sheet. Bake 9 minutes or until the tops are rounded and slightly cracked. Cool on a wire rack. Store in an air tight container.

For more about sorghum, go here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweet_sorghum