Ginger cookies made with ginger and a little molasses—they’re soft, chewy, large, and just the right treat for an afternoon snack!
On a blustery, cold afternoon in January, there is nothing better than to curl up in front of the fireplace with a good book, a cup of hot tea and one or two of these wonderful, spicy soft ginger cookies.
These ginger cookies are part of my Christmas cookie collection, but they are also delicious all year long. I like them filled with different flavors, not too sweet, and large so that the middle is soft but the edges are crispy—about twice the size of the ones in the photo above. Those I made for giveaways last Christmas, and because I was making so many I made them smaller.
How to Make Soft Ginger Cookies
You’ll need ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, and nutmeg, along with molasses and brown sugar. And of course, flour and regular granulated sugar, butter and eggs.
Start by whisking together flour, all the spices, baking soda and salt.
In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter for a few minutes then add the sugars. Mix well until smooth, then beat in eggs and molasses. Stir or beat in flour mixture on low setting.
At this point, if I’ve planned far enough ahead, I like to scoop all the dough onto a piece of plastic wrap and place it in the fridge for a few hours. This allows the dough to absorb the moisture from the eggs and makes it much easier to roll into balls, which is the next step.
Using large portions of dough, 2 tablespoons or more, shape into balls and roll in raw turbinado sugar. And just a note on that sugar: if you send your son to the store to buy some, be sure to mention to him that it comes in SMALL PACKETS as well as the box of loose sugar. I spend a good bit of time opening packets…
Space the balls a good 2 inches apart on the cookie sheet and bake for about 12 minutes, until lightly browned and puffy. Cool the ginger cookies on the cookie sheet for a couple of minutes then transfer to a wire rack.
Enjoy!
*This recipe adapted from Giant Ginger Cookies from Simply Recipes.
Ginger Cookies
Ingredients
- 4 ½ cups all purpose flour
- 3 teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 4 teaspoons ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
- 3 sticks unsalted butter, softened
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup molasses
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Whisk together flour, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon, cloves, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter for a few minutes then add the sugars. Mix well until smooth, then beat in eggs, molasses and vanilla.
- Stir or beat in flour mixture using low setting.
- Scoop dough onto a piece of plastic wrap and place it in the fridge for a few hours. This will make shaping the balls easier.
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Using large portions of dough, 2 tablespoons or more, shape into balls and roll in raw turbinado sugar.
- Space the balls a good 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for about 12 minutes, until lightly browned and puffy.
- Cool on the cookie sheet for a couple of minutes then transfer to a wire rack.
