Ginger Molasses Sugar Cookies are soft, chewy, and spicy, and rolled in a ginger sugar. They come together super quickly, and are the perfect holiday (or any time) cookie!
Ginger Molasses Sugar Cookies
Hi and happy #cookiefriday! I made these a few weeks ago and couldn’t wait to share the recipe so sent it out to my email list a little early , which was fun! I might do it a little more often - you can sign up on the side bar, I promise that I really suck at sending them out frequently so I couldn’t spam you even if I wanted to, but it was a fun way of getting a recipe out to people a little early before I wrote up the blog post. (Update from December 2020 - I have a wee email list going now where I send a new recipe each week! You can sign up here or in the side bar! I would love to have you)
These were somewhat procrastination cookies - I think I was meant to be working on something that I didn’t want to, and really had a hankering for a ginger cookie, so I developed these over a Saturday. They are super simple - it’s basically a sugar cookie, elevated with a little molasses, a lot of ginger and a teeny bit of cardamom, and then rolled in ginger sugar just before baking, making them soft and chewy and a little crunchy on the edges, with a super yum ginger sugar coating. I’m very into them. There’s no resting time which means that they come together really quickly, and I can promise you they will disappear almost as quickly - they are so delicious. Happy Friday and happy weekend! x
How to make super easy Ginger Molasses Sugar Cookies
These cookies are soft, chewy, and super easy to make. There is no chill time when making them, so you can have them ready to go in no time at all.
All it takes is a few simple steps - creaming together the butter and sugars, adding in the egg, then incorporating the dry ingredients and mixing to combine. The soft dough is then scooped and rolled into balls, then rolled in a spiced sugar mixture.
The cookies then have a quick wee spin in the oven until they are super puffy and perfect, and left to cool just for a bit, leaving you with spicy, chewy, super delicious sugar cookies.
What goes into Ginger Molasses Sugar Cookies?
- Brown Sugar - This gives flavour but also helps to keep the cookies thick and on the chewy side. The ratio of brown to white sugar (and leavener) controls the spread and texture of a cookie, so these are the things I usually play around with when developing!
- Granulated Sugar - This gives spread! Super spread out cookies usually have a higher ratio of granulated to brown sugar (along with less flour and more butter). #Science.
- Molasses - Just a wee bit to help give a super deep and toasty flavour. Make sure you've got unsulphured. If you're in NZ, use treacle.
- Spices - I popped loads of ginger in these, along with a wee bit of cinnamon and some cardamom. There's also ginger in the sugar that the cookies are rolled in before baking.
- The other usual suspects - Our friends Egg, flour, butter, and baking soda!
A few wee tips for Ginger Molasses Sugar Cookies
- These are massive. If you want them a little smaller, a 2 Tbsp ball of dough would work perfectly too - just bake them for 9-11 minutes instead of the longer time.
- To me these are a delicious amount of ginger, but if you really want a super spicy cookie then feel free to increase it (I love that really strong ginger taste too).
- If you don't have cardamom on hand, you can add a little more cinnamon.
- If you like your cookies a bit crunchy, up the baking time a minute or two
- If you like your cookies really soft, you can increase the flour quantity to 340g for a cookie that is a little puffier.
- These won’t look done when they come out of the oven / will look all puffed up, but they settle on the tray!
- If you're in Nz (or the UK) and can't get molasses, treacle will work great.
For more Ginger recipes, check out:
Made this recipe and love it?
I would LOVE for you to leave me a review below to let me know how you liked it! Make sure to tag me on Instagram if you make it!
A note on salt and oven temperature
It is important to note the type of salt that is called for in a recipe. I use Diamond Crystal salt throughout my recipes - if you use a different sort of kosher salt or regular table salt you will need to adjust accordingly as some salt is 'saltier' than others. Morton's salt is twice as salty, so you will need half the quantity. Same goes for a regular table salt. I am working to get gram measurements throughout my recipes for salt but still getting there.
All oven temperatures are conventional unless otherwise stated. If you are baking on fan, you will need to adjust the temperature. An oven thermometer is a great investment to ensure that your oven is the correct temperature.
Why is this recipe in grams?
I post my recipes in grams as it is the most accurate way to bake. Cups are not only inaccurate but they vary in volume worldwide. There is no way for me to provide one cup measure that works for everyone. However, posting in weight fixes this issue. If you would like the recipe in cups you are welcome to convert it yourself via google, but please do not ask me to do it for you as I am not comfortable providing a recipe using a method that I have not tested. Baking with a scale is easy, accurate, and also makes cleanup super simple. Here is the scale that I use if you would like a recommendation! Here's to accurate baking!
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Ginger Molasses Sugar Cookies
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 12 large cookies 1x
- Category: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Ginger Molasses Sugar Cookies are soft, chewy, and spicy, and rolled in a ginger sugar. They come together super quickly, and are the perfect holiday (or any time) cookie!
Ingredients
- 225g unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 200g dark brown sugar
- 100g granulated sugar
- 30g molasses (if you are in NZ or can’t get molasses, use treacle)
- 1 egg, at room temperature
- 1 tsp Vanilla Bean Paste
- 310g All-purpose flour
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 4 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground cardamom
- For rolling- 100g sugar and 1 tsp ground ginger, combined
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°f / 180°c. Line 2-3 baking sheets with parchment paper (you may have to bake these in several batches depending on how many trays your oven can tolerate).
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and molasses together on high speed until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla bean paste and mix to combine. Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt and spices in a small bowl. Add to the mixer and mix on low until just combined.
- Using a ¼ cup spring-loaded cookie scoop (4 Tbsp - or you can roll together 2 2 Tbsp pieces), scoop balls of dough onto the prepared baking sheets. Each ball should weigh about 65g. I like to do 6 on each sheet. Roll each ball of dough between your hands to form a ball, then roll in the ginger sugar before placing on the baking sheet. Leave any mixture that you are not baking off just yet in the bowl and scoop just before baking.
- Bake the cookies for 13-14 minutes or until puffy and set around the edges. Remove from the oven and cool on the pan for 5 minutes - the cookies will deflate slightly as they cool. Transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool completely. Repeat the baking process with the remaining cookie dough.
- Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature.
Keywords: Ginger Molasses, Ginger Molasses sugar cookies, ginger cookies
Could you please put the ingredients into US measurements?
Hi! I am in the US too 🙂 If you mean cups, I don't post in cups as they are not accurate. You are welcome to google the conversions yourself (I test in grams so that's all I would be doing too) if you would like to make the switch. King Arthur has a pretty good conversion guide on their site, but I do not provide my recipes in cups. Grams are by far the most accurate way to bake and a scale is a great investment. Let me know if you would like a recommendation!
Great recipe! The texture of these cookies is perfection! We made 48 regular size cookies instead of the 12 big cookies and used vanilla extract because I don’t have the vanilla bean paste. Still came out so good, will definitely make these again!
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Yayyyy so glad you enjoyed! Thank you so much for the review, I appreciate so much x
I just made these and halved the recipe-- huge mistake!! My family was elbowing each other out of the way to eat these straight from the oven. Another instant favorite from you, Erin!! Next time I'll be doubling the recipe.
Yayyyyy so glad you love! x
I can’t find vanilla bean paste. Do I just sub vanilla extract?
Yep 🙂
These cookies are delicious and easy to make! They are perfectly chewy and have great flavor. I did add a little more cinnamon and ginger because I like extra warmth. I loved getting to weigh out the ingredients using my scale.
★★★★★
Yayyyy I'm so glad that you like them!
Do they freeze well? Any tips for that storage ? They look amazing and want to make these right now!!
Hiiii I haven't tried freezing them! You could probably freeze the rolled out dough (maybe put the sugar on just before baking), or you could also potentially freeze the baked cookies. I haven't tried either because my husband is OBSESSED with these and they disappear too quick! hahah x
Hey!
Can I used gluten free all purpose flour for this recipe?
Hi! I don't know sorry! I don't have any experience baking with gluten free flour. You can try but I have no idea how it is going to come out!
I made these last year to take to my family Christmas and they were very popular. The addition of the cardamom really adds an interesting dimension. Pulling up the recipe to make them again this year to drop off on porches since we won't be celebrating together. 100% recommend!
P.S. I made them with a small scoop for bite sized cookies and they still worked out perfectly.
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Hi! Yayyyy I love to hear that! Tiny is great too! They never last long around here 🙂
Hi Erin,
In the end when you roll the cookie balls in the sugar is the white sugar in granulated or powder form?
Thanks,
Mayanka
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Hi! It's granulated 🙂
These are the best ginger molasses cookies I've ever had 🙂
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Yayyy they are my fave too! x
This is my new favorite cookie recipe! So good and flavorful. Followed as written and I love that all your recipes are in weight/grams!
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Eeee yay I am so happy that you love them! They are a forever fave in our house x
My new favorite cookie. SO good and perfect with a cup of coffee. My dad is a big fan of ginger snaps and he loved them!
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Yayyy so glad you love! They are a fave in my house too!
I have now nick named this cookies crack because they're soooo addictive! So easy to make, whipped up a double batch for Christmas presents and everyone loved them!
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Ah yayyyy so glad you love!
Made these as part of our Christmas cookie lineup and they were a hit! Perfectly chewy and very tasty. Thank you, Erin!
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Eeee I am so glad that you like them!
Made these recently and they were so easy and so delicious!
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Yay I am so stoked you love them! 🙂
The BEST Christmas cookies. Love them! Such a great flavour and the best texture.
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Yay so glad that you love them!
One of the best cookies we’ve ever had. We made these to give to friends for Christmas and they said the same thing. I took all the credit of course but the real credit is due to you for creating such a great recipe!
My son, husband and grandma loved these. A winner!
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Yayyyy they are are our favourite too!
These cookies are amazing! Such a perfect amount of sugar and spice.
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Holy Moly are these cookies wonderful. Perfect texture: chewy middle, every so slight crisp on the outside. Cardamon amount is perfect too - just a hint after the ginger/ cinnamon wears off. Def. adding these to my holiday cookie presents.
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Eeee I'm so glad you loved!
So easy to make and so good!!
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They are a fave of ours too!
These were amazing! Left them in a little longer (~17 mins) to make them nice and crispy on the edges. Also forgot to roll them in sugar, but honestly I think I would prefer them without. Thank you for another great cookie recipe, Erin!
★★★★★
Oh hiii! Yay so happy you love! They are an absolute fave of ours! Hope you are well! x
This is my third time making these as they are divine! This time they are for my mother and daughter for Mother’s Day!
★★★★★
Ahhh so happy that you love them! They are a fave of ours x
Hey! So keen to make these. I prefer slightly less sweet than your average cookie muncher though - could I reduce the sugar amount a smidge without impacting texture? Would you recommend taking a bit off each type or just one? Thanks 🧡
Hi! I've only made these as written sorry so you'd have to experiment with that yourself. Sugar does affect texture so just keep that in mind! 🙂