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THE BEST Chewy Ginger Molasses Cookies
Exceptionally chewy and even a bit gooey Ginger Molasses Cookies with two types of ginger for extra spiciness! There's optional crystallized ginger throughout the dough and it adds so much flavor. These are my family's favorite holiday cookie. You must try it!
Ingredients
- 10 tablespoon (140g) unsalted butter, softened
- ½ cup (110g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- ¼ cup (60ml/80g) fancy (light) molasses) (Grandma's brand works well)
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups (284g) all-purpose flour *NOTE: measure by weight to get the right amount of flour. Cookies will spread too much if there is too little flour.
- 1 ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon ground clove (optional, but I love the flavor)
- ½ cup (70g) chopped crystallized ginger (optional)
- ⅓ cup (65g) granulated sugar for rolling
For best results, use a kitchen scale to weigh the ingredients.
Instructions
- Combine butter with both sugars in a large mixing bowl and mix with an electric hand mixer on medium speed for about 2 minutes until smooth, creamy and a bit fluffy. You can also use a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or cream by hand with a wide rubber spatula. Mix in egg until evenly incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Add molasses and vanilla and mix until combined.
- Combine flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon and clove in a medium bowl and whisk to blend evenly. Add it to the butter mixture with the crystallized ginger (if you are using it) and mix on low speed or fold it in gently until just incorporated. Do not over-mix or the cookies will be less gooey inside.
- Cover the bowl and refrigerate the dough for 2-8 hours. This is important as the flour needs to hydrate so the cookies have the right texture and thickness. Here's the difference: a 2 hour chill time will give you chewy cookies that spread out with dramatic cracks on the surface, while an 8 hour chill time will create taller, thicker cookies. The dough will be quite stiff after chilling and that is OK.
- When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350°F. Line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- Use a 1.25-oz cookie scoop to portion dough and roll into smooth balls, then roll in granulated sugar to coat evenly. If you prefer smaller cookies, you can use a 1-oz cookie scoop and this will give you about 22 cookies. Place onto prepared baking sheets with at least 2 inches of space between each one. Flatten slightly only if you prefer thinner cookies or leave them as balls for taller, thicker cookies. Bake for 9-12 minutes (or 8-10 minutes for smaller cookies) until evenly browned, puffed and cracked at the surface. Transfer baking sheets to a wire rack and let cookies cool on the sheets for 2 minutes before transferring individually to the rack to finish cooling.
