Description
A favorite Christmas cookie recipe! These easy ginger cookies are soft, chewy, full of flavor, and always first on my holiday baking list.
Ingredients
Scale
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp cocoa powder
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 3/4 cups (1–1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
- 1 cup granulated (white) sugar, plus more for rolling
- 1 tsp fresh ginger, finely minced
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup molasses (I use Brer Rabbit)
Instructions
- Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ground ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Set aside.
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together the melted and cooled butter, sugar, fresh ginger, and vanilla on medium-speed until well-combined.
- Add the egg and the molasses, and continue mixing until fully-combined.
- Turn the mixer down to low and add the dry ingredients, a half-cup or so at a time, and mix just until the dough comes together and the ingredients are fully incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. The dough will be quite thick.
- Cover the mixing bowl and chill the dough for 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375℉. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Remove the dough from the fridge and gently form the dough into 1-inch balls. Gently roll the balls of dough in sugar then place them on your prepared baking sheet, spaced about 2-inches apart, and bake for 8-10 minutes.
- When the ginger cookies come out the oven, they should have noticeable cracks throughout and look slightly raw in the center. Let the cookies cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack. Serve warm or at room-temperature. Enjoy!
Notes
I find that using a 1-inch cookie-scoop to portion out the dough (prior to rolling it into balls) creates much more even-sized cookies than I ever manage to make without it.
Keywords: ginger cookies, soft and chewy, molasses, christmas, holiday cookie, classic