Chewy Ginger Molasses Cookies
Everyone's holiday baking arsenal should include a recipe for chewy ginger molasses cookies. Not a gingerbread cookie, but not a gingersnap.
Ingredients
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter (141 grams)
- 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, measured using the scoop-and-sweep method (see above) (227 grams)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/3 cup unsulphured molasses (93 grams)
- 1/2 cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed (95 grams)
- 1/2 cup white granulated sugar (110 grams)
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Demerara or Turbinado sugar for coating, optional
Instructions
- Brown the butter. In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Cook the butter, scraping the bottom of the pan occasionally, until it bubbles and foams, smells nutty, and you can see little flecks of brown at the bottom of the pan. Once you no longer hear any popping or fizzing, take it off the heat immediately and transfer to a large mixing bowl. Let cool until it's just barely warm.
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, ginger, black pepper, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside.
- Pour the molasses into the browned butter and whisk. Add the granulated and dark brown sugars, whisk until combined and glossy, then whisk in the egg and vanilla.
- Fold the flour mixture into the wet ingredients using a rubber spatula, stopping when the last streaks of flour disappear and the dough is homogenous. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes just so the dough can firm up a bit.
- Measure out 13 or 14 balls of dough, about 2 heaping tablespoons or 1.6 ounces each. (I like to use a #24 cookie scoop for this.) Roll each ball in Demerara sugar. Cover the dough balls with plastic wrap and return them to the refrigerator to chill again for about 1 hour.
- Pre-heat the oven to 350° F. Line two half-sheet trays with parchment paper and set the oven racks to the top and lower thirds positions. Bake the cookies, 6 or 7 to a tray, for 7 minutes, then rotate them 180 degrees and switch their places, giving them a firm *thwap* on the counter when you do. Continue baking for 5 to 6 more minutes, or until the edges are set but still soft and pliable.
- Allow the cookies to cool on their trays for 2 minutes before carefully transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
