Spiced Molasses Ginger Cookies (Printer-friendly)

Soft, chewy cookies enriched with warm spices, rich molasses, and zesty ginger for a cozy treat.

# What You'll Need:

→ Dry Ingredients

01 - 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
02 - 2 teaspoons ground ginger
03 - 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
04 - 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
05 - 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
06 - 1/4 teaspoon salt
07 - 2 teaspoons baking soda

→ Wet Ingredients

08 - 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
09 - 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
10 - 1 large egg
11 - 1/4 cup unsulfured molasses
12 - 2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger or 1 teaspoon ground ginger

→ For Rolling

13 - 1/4 cup granulated sugar

# How to Prepare:

01 - Set oven temperature to 350°F and prepare two baking sheets by lining them with parchment paper.
02 - Whisk together flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, salt, and baking soda in a medium bowl. Set aside.
03 - Using a mixer or whisk, beat softened butter with brown sugar until light and fluffy.
04 - Add egg, molasses, and grated ginger to the butter mixture, mixing until fully integrated.
05 - Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, stirring until just combined without overmixing.
06 - Scoop tablespoon-sized dough portions, roll into balls, then coat each in granulated sugar.
07 - Place sugar-coated dough balls on prepared sheets, spacing at least 2 inches apart.
08 - Bake for 9 to 11 minutes until edges are set but centers remain soft.
09 - Allow cookies to cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • They're soft and chewy instead of crispy, which means they stay delicious for days and somehow taste even better the next morning.
  • One bowl of spices creates this layered warmth that feels fancy but costs almost nothing.
  • The dough comes together in about fifteen minutes, making these perfect for spontaneous baking emergencies.
02 -
  • Taking them out of the oven when they look slightly underbaked is the only secret to keeping them chewy—they continue cooking on the warm pan for those first five minutes.
  • Fresh grated ginger makes an enormous difference in brightness; ground ginger alone tastes a bit dusty by comparison, so try to use both if you can.
03 -
  • If you want extra ginger intensity, chop up crystallized ginger and fold it into the dough in the last step—it adds chewy texture and a sharper ginger flavor that plays beautifully against the molasses.
  • Room temperature ingredients blend together much more smoothly than cold ones, so take your butter and egg out of the fridge about an hour before you bake.

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