Adapted from The Joy of Cooking
1 stick unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup molasses
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cardamom
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp table salt
1/2 cup chopped raisins (optional, I didn’t use them but my mom said they would have been a good idea, and The Joy agrees)
Heat oven to 350. Beat the butter until soft, then add the sugar and blend until light and creamy. Beat in the egg and molasses.
Sift the flour, baking soda, spices, and salt. Alternate adding in thirds the sifted ingredients and the buttermilk to the mixture in the bowl, beating smooth after each addition. (Er, that wasn’t terribly clear. Sift those things together. Add a third of the buttermilk to the butter/sugar/egg/molasses mixture. Beat smooth. Add a third of the sifted flour/soda/spices/salt to the bowl. Beat smooth. Add another third of the buttermilk, etc.)
Drop the batter in teaspoons onto a greased or parchment-lined cookie sheet. Bake for 8 to 12 minutes.
(Note: these baked up as soft little puffy cookies. I have a feeling if I made them in warmer weather, they might have coalesced into an large amorphous cookie. This happened with the Pfeffernüsse. So just be careful, and if you feel like the dough is way too loose [this may be hard to tell, as it’s a pretty loose dough anyway], put it in the fridge for 10 minutes or so before baking.)