molasses cookies & first half of Michigan photos

These molasses cookies a kind of amazing little things. Maybe it is just my new found love of molasses, maybe because the dough is great by itself, there could be many reasons. 

When I asked my great grandpa what kind of cookies he wanted me to make, he said, 'Can you make molasses? Everyone always makes me chocolate chip but I want molasses' So that was my goal. I made a whole bunch and froze then in individual bags so he could have them for a while. 

This recipe is based on one from Cook's Illustrated. When baking them, don't bake until they look done. Bake them until the edges are done but the center still looks doughy. When they cool, they will harden up but still keep that nice chewy texture. One of the best cookie recipes I have ever made.

One of the first places we stopped, The Franklin Cider Mill. They had lots of fruit, vegetables, honey, jams and tons of apple products. Including donuts that are a tradition for us to get. 

 Locally made cheese.

So many apples. We had bags full of apples with us for the whole trip. We could go through them fast enough.

The kitchen of my great aunt's house.

 Great Grandpa.

 His front yard. The stairs lead straight down to the beach, Lake Huron.

 His bed.

Bridge in Lexington.

 My great great great great grandmother's grave.

 The weather was cold and brisk but I still rode the bike around for a bit. I learned to ride a bike in Michigan when I was little and probably have rode one only a few times since then. I would not call myself coordinated. 

 We took a trip to the Eastern Market in Detroit before making a side trip to Canada. The market was abundant and their were lots of people, which was surprising based on the conditions of the city. When driving through Detroit, my dad said 'It looks like a war has gone on and no one's won.' Sad but true. Looking around Detroit, you could practically cry, the city is nearly in ruins.

 A sweet dog.

 I don't remember what these things are called, but I remember I first saw them on Athena Plichta's blog. Her photos of them were magical, as are all her photos. It's like the one blog that I have in my bookmarks bar that I check daily. I swear I'm not a stalker, her photos just inspire me that much. So it made me so happy so see those pumpkin tree things that she had.

 Sunflower heads. I have never seen people selling the dried heads before. I wish I would have been closer to home so I could have bought a bunch.

 Michigan potatoes. 

The final photos of the Michigan trip on the next post.