On a cold winter day as my phone’s health tracker let me know I’m walking less than usual (no kidding! It’s 14 degrees!), we hunkered down. My family busted out a new board game, made some popcorn, and baked some cookies.
I searched online to find a baked good from Maine; these Maine Multi-Spice Cookies (a.k.a. Maine Chewies) were a success! I was happily surprised that we already had all the ingredients we needed. In a short time, we had an aromatic cookie fragrance filling the house. I sat down with my favorite two Maine campers (my daughters) for some Maine Chewies and tea, and we talked about the best baked goods they eat at camp. One said Blondies for dessert after dinner. My other talked about “night bite” and how she and her camp friends love dipping their cookies in milk. Hearing about my campers’ fun summers always makes me happy and I’m excited that when we end this year, we’ll be closer to Maine Camp summer 2023!
If you’re looking for a tasty treat from Maine, we highly recommend these Maine Chewies. According to the recipe from Food.com, “Adapted from Yankee magazine. Supposedly a version of this recipe is served on board the “Mary Day,” a schooner from Maine. Any cookie with cardamom in it is a cookie for me. These are by far the best tasting spice cookies I have ever tried,” said @HeatherFeather who submitted the recipe. Thank you, @HeatherFeather!
Recipe below. Happy baking! Wishing all cozy winter days and a sweet New Year! Can’t wait to see everyone at Maine Camps this summer.
INGREDIENTS
UNITS: US
- 1 cup sweet unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
- 2 1⁄2cups granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon ginger
- 1⁄2teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1⁄2teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 1⁄2teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon baking soda (really that much)
- 1⁄4cup lukewarm water
- 1⁄4cup molasses
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
DIRECTIONS
- Combine butter, sugar, all 5 spices, and salt in a large mixing bowl, mixing well with a wooden spoon.
- Dissolve baking soda in the warm water and then stir into the butter mixture.
- Stir in the molasses and the lightly beaten egg, mixing well.
- Add flour,1 cup at a time, stirring to mix- the dough will be quite stiff (be sure to scrape all the way down to the bottom of the bowl to mix evenly).
- Scoop the dough into walnut sized lumps (about 1 Tbsp or so) and drop onto greased or parchment-lined baking sheets, about 2″ apart.
- Bake in a preheated 350°F oven for 8-12 minutes, or until crackled and browned. They will look very, very soft in the middles but as long as you can lift them with a spatula they are ready.
- Let cool 1 minute on pans before carefully lifting with a spatula to cooling racks.
- Finished cookies should be somewhat chewy.
(Recipe says it makes 4 ½ dozen cookies)
Here’s a link to the recipe:
https://www.food.com/recipe/maine-multi-spice-cookies-maine-chewies-91399
Maine Camp Experience Resources & Tools
You can share your own Maine camps memories & expressions of gratitude on our Memories of Camp section of our website.
Looking for the perfect Maine camp for your child? Try out our helpful tool where you can select a camp by choosing: type of camp (girls, boys or coed) and session length (1-8 weeks). It helps to narrow down a few camps to a manageable list that includes rates. Then you can research these camps in more depth.
Next, be sure to contact our Maine Camp Guide, Laurie to discuss these camps as well as for free, year-round advice and assistance on choosing a great Maine summer camp for your child.
Talk to Laurie, our Maine Campcierge®, about choosing the right camp for your child and what to do in Maine.
Call 877-92-MAINE
