(Adapted from the Yankee Magazine recipe, which is somewhat incoherent, doesn't put the oven-preheat at the front, lists ingredients in the wrong order, and suggests colling the dough and rolling it, which is totally unnecessary.)
Preheat over to 375F.
Ingredients:
In a medium bowl, whisk together
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon hot water
1 cup unsulphured dark molasses
2-1/2 tablespoons dark rum, such as Gosling's or Myers
In a larger bowl, mix
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons table salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1-1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (I used 1/2t ground, and it was fine)
In a quite large bowl, cream together
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened 20 sec in microwave
1 cup granulated sugar
until light and fluffy -- a couple of minutes
Add one-third of the flour mixture to the butter and sugar and stir until evenly mixed.
Add half the molasses mixture and beat to combine.
Repeat with another third of the flour mixture, then the remaining molasses mixture.
Add the remaining third of the flour mixture and beat to combine. Don't overbeat.
Put large-walnut-sized lumps (about 1-1.5 T) on teflon cookie sheets or jelly-roll pans, about 9 cookies to a pan.
Cook 8 minutes; let cool in pan 1-2 min; remove to wire rack to cool more. Inside of cookies should be slightly soft and chewy.