Holiday Recipe: Soft Ginger-Molasses Cookies

These cookies are so soft and scrumptious. They taste great whether or not they are coated with sugar. This is one of my family’s favorite recipes. Hope you enjoy them.

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
½ cup molasses
2 ¼ teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 ¼ teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 ¼ teaspoons ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground ginger
2 large eggs
3 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
One type of sugar for coating: powdered sugar; granulated sugar; sparkling white (coarse) sugar; or bright white pearl sugar

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) two baking sheets.
In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
Beat in molasses, baking soda, salt, and spices.
Add eggs, making sure sides of bowl are scraped in order to combine thoroughly.
Stir in flour.
Scoop soft dough into 1 ½ inch balls. (A tablespoon cookie scoop works well.)
Roll cookie dough balls into preferred type of sugar.
Space cookies on cookie sheet leaving 2 ½” between them.
Bake cookies for 10 minutes. The centers will look soft and puffy. This is okay.
Remove cookies from oven and let cool for 10 minutes on pan before transferring to a rack to cool completely.

OPTIONAL FLAIR:

To make easy, pretty, decorated cookies, use a cutter smaller than the cookie to cut a shape from the center of each cookie, while cookies are still mildly warm. Serve both the original cookies and the individual shapes that you have cut from them.

BAKER’S TIP:

Trying to decide which sugar is best to use?

Powdered Sugar (1/4 cup) – will mimic the look of snow but will leave no crunch on crust.

Granulated Sugar (1/2 cup) – will mostly disappear as the cookies bake leaving the slightest crunch on crust.

Coarse White Sugar (1 cup) – will add sparkle and mild crunch

Bright White Pearl Sugar (heaping cup) – will add contrast, (also mimicking snow) and a more assertive crunch.