My brother made some of these ginger molasses cookies over the winter break, and I rather enjoyed them. They have a crisp exterior but a chewy interior, and they sort of resemble a cross between gingerbread and spice cookies.
Later I asked my brother for the recipe and he happily passed it along, mentioning that he originally got the recipe from his friend Kristin. (They’re yummy, Kristin!)
Note: The full recipe makes about 40 cookies, while the halved recipe makes about 20. I’m including both versions since you might not always need forty cookies ;).
Ginger Molasses Cookies—Full Recipe
You might already have some of these spices in your pantry, but keep in mind that ground spices start to lose their flavor after about 8 months. If your spices are older than that—or if you’re not sure how old they are—you may be best off buying new ones.
Ingredients:
- 4 ½ cups (639 grams) all purpose flour
- 4 teaspoons ground ginger (ground ginger from the spice aisle is fine)
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
- 2 teaspoons salt (bonus tastiness points if it’s noniodized salt)
- 3 sticks (339 grams) butter, softened or at room temperature (Or for a vegan version, I’ve had success with Miyoko’s Vegan Butter, which I found at Target.)
- 2 cups (396 grams) sugar
- 2 eggs that have come to room temperature (Or for a vegan version, I’ve had success with Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacer, which I found at Target.)
- ½ cup (170 grams) molasses
- Set aside in a cereal bowl: ¾ cup (150 grams) turbinado sugar (“sugar in the raw”) or granulated sugar with 1 teaspoon kosher salt that you’ve mixed in with a fork
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C).
In a medium bowl, stir together flour, ground ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, ground cloves and salt—set aide.
In a large mixing bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds to soften. Add 2 cups (396 grams) of sugar, beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in eggs and molasses until combined.
Beat in as much of the flour mixture as you can with the mixer. If need be, use a wooden spoon to stir in any remaining flour mixture.
Shape dough into 1 ½ to 2-inch balls (4 to 5 cm). (If you have a digital scale, aim for around 28 to 30 grams per ball.) Roll the balls in the sugar & kosher salt that you had set aside. Place the dough about 2 ½ inches (6 ½ cm) apart on baking sheets.
Bake for 12–14 minutes. If you’re baking multiple sheets at a time, swap the sheets halfway through. Bake the cookies until they’re light brown and puffed. After you take them out of the oven, let them cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes, and then transfer them to a wire rack to cool.
Ginger Molasses Cookies’Halved Recipe
Ingredients:
- 2 ¼ cups (320 grams) all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger (ground ginger from the spice aisle is fine)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ sticks (170 grams) butter, softened or at room temperature (Or for a vegan version, I’ve had success with Miyoko’s Vegan Butter, which I found at Target.)
- 1 cup (198 grams) sugar
- 1 egg that has come to room temperature (Or for a vegan version, I’ve had success with Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacer, which I found at Target.)
- ¼ cup (85 grams) molasses
- Set aside in a cereal bowl: 6 tablespoons (75 grams) turbinado sugar (“sugar in the raw”) or granulated sugar with ½ teaspoon kosher salt that you’ve mixed in with a fork
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C).
In a medium bowl, stir together flour, ground ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, ground cloves and salt—set aide.
In a large mixing bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds to soften. Add 1 cup (198 grams) of sugar, beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in the egg and molasses until combined.
Beat in as much of the flour mixture as you can with the mixer. If need be, use a wooden spoon to stir in any remaining flour mixture.
Shape dough into 1 ½ to 2-inch balls (4 to 5 cm). (If you have a digital scale, aim for around 28 to 30 grams per ball.) Roll the balls in the sugar & kosher salt that you had set aside. Place the dough about 2 ½ inches (6 ½ cm) apart on baking sheets.
Bake for 12–14 minutes. If you’re baking multiple sheets at a time, swap the sheets halfway through. Bake the cookies until they’re light brown and puffed. After you take them out of the oven, let them cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes, and then transfer them to a wire rack to cool.