2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/3 cup dark molasses
1 large egg
1 cup dark raisins
1 cup pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped (optional)
Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour 2 large cookie sheets.
On waxed paper, combine flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, ginger, nutmeg, salt, and cloves.
In large bowl, with mixer at medium speed, beat sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Beat in molasses until well combined. Beat in egg. With mixer at low speed, beat in flour mixture just until blended, occasionally scraping bowl with rubber spatula. With spoon, stir in raisins and pecans if using, just until combined.
Divide dough into quarters. With lightly floured hands, shape each quarter into 12" by 1 1/2" log. On each prepared cookie sheet, place 2 logs, leaving about 3 inches in between. Bake logs on 2 oven racks 13 to 15 minutes or until logs flatten and edges are firm, rotating cookie sheets between upper and lower racks halfway through baking. Cool logs 15 minutes on cookie sheets on wire racks.
Transfer logs to cutting board. Slice each log crosswise into 8 cookies. Transfer cookies to wire racks to cool completely.
