Ginger Spiced Molasses Sugar Cookies

By • March 30, 2010 • 42 Comments


Author Notes: These cookies are spicy, sweet and rich with molasses. Take care not to overbake the cookie and you will have a chewy center that will melt in your mouth. For added spice and bite, add diced candied ginger to the batter.TasteFood

Serves 24

  • 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon allspice
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 3/4 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 3/4 cups packed dark brown sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/2 cup unsulfured molasses
  • 1/3 cup finely diced candied ginger (optional)
  • granulated sugar for rolling
  1. Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ground ginger, allspice, salt and cloves in a bowl and mix well.
  2. Beat butter and sugar together in bowl of electric mixer until light and fluffy, 3 minutes.
  3. Add egg and molasses. Mix to combine well. Stir in dry ingredients. Stir in candied ginger if using. Refrigerate batter 1 hour.
  4. Preheat oven to 375 F. Roll dough into 1 1/2" balls. Roll balls in granulated sugar. Arrange on baking sheets lined with parchment paper and gently flatten. Bake in oven until set and crinkled on top, about 12 minutes. Remove and cool.

Tags: Jennifer Steinhauer, Jenny, Jenny's in the Kitchen, jestei

Comments (42) Questions (1)

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4 months ago mdm

delicious, thank you!

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5 months ago rachel waters

I made these over the weekend...a few tweaks here and there and they are BEYOND FAB. Everyone went nuts for them. Thank you so much!!
Here is my post on them, as well as photos as to how they came out!
http://feastoffashions...

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9 months ago jeongeun

Probably THE best cookies I've ever tasted!

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12 months ago em-i-lis

Emily is a trusted source on General Cooking.

these sound amazing. can you make/freeze the dough a few days in advance of cooking them?

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12 months ago TasteFood

I have made the dough up to 1 day in advance of baking without any problem. You will need to let the dough sit for a while to warm up a bit before forming the cookies. As for freezing, I haven't tried, but I bet it will work. If you try, please let me know how they come out!

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12 months ago em-i-lis

Emily is a trusted source on General Cooking.

Thanks a ton for letting me know this, TF. if i freeze and cook, i'll definitely let you know. btw, when you say serves 24, is that 24 cookies? or is serving size more than 1 cookie/person?

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12 months ago TasteFood

That would be 24 cookies, because my family would have a fit if they were allowed only 1 cookie each :)

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about 1 year ago thirdchild

This exact recipe was used by my grandmother, who frequently made cookies for our family. My children enjoyed them also. Where does it come from?

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about 1 year ago TasteFood

It's inspired by a Betty Crocker cookie I grew up eating, too.

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over 1 year ago Pure Vivante

Brought an allergy-friendly version of these to a dessert potluck party and everyone loved them! I substituted the flour with gluten-free all-purpose flour + 1 1/4 tsp xanthan gum, a "flax egg" (1T ground flax seed + 3 T hot water), and commercial vegan butter. I'll be baking these for holiday seasons to come!

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over 1 year ago Chez nous

So easy and yummy! Twist on gingerbread.

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over 1 year ago Chez nous

So easy and yummy! Twist on gingerbread.

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over 1 year ago EmilyC

These cookies are so, so good. I love the gentle spice -- so many gingerbread cookies are too assertively spiced for my taste -- and the texture is great. Love this recipe!

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over 1 year ago AntoniaJames

AntoniaJames is a trusted source on Bread/Baking.

A&M, how did you get yours so dark? Mine were much lighter in color (more like the photo posted by TasteFood). I followed the recipe exactly. I did bake a few that were darker, but they ended up crispy all the way through, because they were baked too long. Is it just the lighting in the FOOD52 photo?.

Mrs._larkin_370

over 1 year ago mrslarkin

Mrs. Larkin is a trusted source on Baking.

AJ, fyi I've made these many times myself, and they're never as dark as A&M's photo. Always much closer in color to TF's.

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over 1 year ago EmilyC

Yep, mine were also much lighter in color.

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over 1 year ago EmilyC

One thought...I didn't use unsulphured blackstrap molasses but I'll bet it would result in a darker cookie.

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over 1 year ago pdconant

Yes, blackstrap molasses resulted in cookies the color shown in the photo above.

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over 1 year ago Matilda Luk

These cookies were delicious--I was too impatient (must. have. cookies. NOW.) and skipped the refrigeration step. They ended up flatter than the photo, but as dark, rich, spicy and delicious. They're definitely going on the Christmas 2011 cookie tray!

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over 1 year ago brdw

These cookies make a WONDERFUL ice cream sandwich! I made sandwiches with a dollop of Half Pint vanilla ice cream from my local farmers' market (http://halfpinticecream...) between two cookies, and they were a huge hit! Once the ice cream softens a bit, it can be spread it like frosting to create a clean edge on the sandwich. I froze the sandwiches overnight for the best consistency. I want to try it again with lemon ice cream. Mmmm.....

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about 2 years ago cookingintheheights

thanks!

Bananacakewithtangyvanilla

about 2 years ago cookingintheheights

ROUND OR FLAT QUESTION -- do you flatten out each ball on the sheet before baking, or just pop in the tray as is? and btw, this recipe looks fantastic and i can't wait to try 'em

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about 2 years ago TasteFood

Gently flattening them before baking is best!

Bananacakewithtangyvanilla

about 2 years ago cookingintheheights

oh dear. just made a batch and i've already eaten 5. FIVE! within 10 minutes.

they are AWESOME. and can i just say that i'm totally embarrassed about asking the flat v. round question b/c now i see that you already address that in your recipe. oy.

gotta go. cookie number 6 is callin' my name...

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over 2 years ago Midge

Made these during the holidays and they were a huge hit. A keeper for sure.

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over 2 years ago TasteFood

So glad you liked them!

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over 2 years ago megcooks

Definitely a great cookies. This will be my go-to recipe for ginger snaps!

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over 2 years ago TasteFood

Great!

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over 2 years ago thirschfeld

I have my nieces coming over to make Christmas cookies. This one is on the list. Can't wait to make it.

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over 2 years ago TasteFood

Let me know how you like them!

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over 2 years ago thirschfeld

Definitely my kind of cookie. I added the candied Ginger and I used muscovado sugar, which all combined, gave the cookie a really deep flavor that I like. It will go into the cookie rotation for sure. All the girls liked them too, even the we ones.

Mrs._larkin_370

over 2 years ago mrslarkin

Mrs. Larkin is a trusted source on Baking.

making these. again. slightly addicted.

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over 2 years ago TasteFood

I am happy for your addiction!

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over 2 years ago mtrelaun

Just made these. They rock!

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over 2 years ago TasteFood

Great, thanks!

Mrs._larkin_370

over 2 years ago mrslarkin

Mrs. Larkin is a trusted source on Baking.

this is my new favorite cookie. you should make a double batch.