Soft Molasses Cookies
These cookies are soft and chewy, with a sensational spice combination and just a tiny crunch of sugar crust. What really gives these a little extra zing is the freshly grated ginger and black pepper. Make sure to watch these in the oven carefully and bake until they are just set. They are easy to overbake, and if you do, you won’t get that chewy softness that is essential to this cakey cookie.
Servings: 24 cookies
Ingredients
- 4 2/3 cups 560g / all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 cup / 220g unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 cup / 200g granulated sugar
- 1 cup / 320g blackstrap molasses
- 2 eggs at room temperature
- 1 Tbsp. Very finely grated peeled fresh ginger (use a microplane grater)
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup / 100g clear sparkling decorator sugar or granulated sugar for rolling
Instructions
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, baking soda, and salt.
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, sugar, and molasses on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Mix in the eggs, one at a time, until well incorporated, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Mix in the fresh ginger and black pepper. Add the flour mixture all at once and mix on low speed just until it all comes together.
- Scoop the cookie dough using a #40 (1 1/2-tablespoon) portion scoop, roll the dough balls in sparkling sugar, place onto the prepared baking sheet, leaving about 1 1/2 inches of space between them to spread and flatten the balls slightly. Refrigerate the cookie dough balls for at least 30 minutes. The dough can also be made the day before or frozen for a few weeks. You can make the cook- ies larger or smaller, but it will affect the baking time.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F / 190°C.
- Bake, one sheet at a time, in the middle of the oven for 10 to 12 minutes, until the cookies are puffed, look slightly dry, and are golden brown just on the bottom. Don’t overbake or they lose their soft texture.
- Cool completely on the baking sheets.