Spiced molasses cookies are like Christmas in cookie form. These chewy cookies are my favorite to leave out for Santa. Also they are perfect with a glass of milk.
How can you not have the holidays without these cookies? It is like a mouthful of Christmas in every bite. If you don’t celebrate Christmas then it is a mouthful of those scented pine cones you find at the store but taste way better an aren’t crunchy. I find that I normally double the recipe so I have some just for myself and then the rest I can give away.
In this recipe
What sets these cookies apart from others like them is the addition of the black pepper. This add a very subtle kick to the cookies that you cannot put your finger on when tasting. However it adds a unique depth of flavor that you won’t find in other recipes.
It is important to note that the flour should be mixed as little as possible for these cookies. These spiced cookies will spread when they bake, and probably more than you expect. By working with the flour as little as possible the gluten will not develop as much and will get the nice crinkle pattern on top when it spreads.
Keeping the dough cold for this recipe is important. If you checked out my sugar cookie recipe I talk about how important it is to refrigerate the dough after mixing before you start baking. Those points are very valid here due to the addition of the ground black pepper. By giving it time to rest the spices will intensify in flavor.
When rolling and pressing the cookie dough it is important to coat the entire cookie and bottom of the glass in sugar. This will help release the cookie from the bottom of the glass. The first cookie will not need the sugar but the rest of them will. The small amount of residual butter left from the cookie should allow the sugar to adhere to the glass bottom.
Spiced Molasses Cookies with Ginger
Equipment
- Stand/Hand mixer
- Spatula
- Lined sheet pans
- Flat bottomed glass
- Plastic wrap
Ingredients
- 2⅓ Cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 tsp ginger
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp allspice
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 1 pinch nutmeg
- ¾ cup butter unsalted, softened
- 1 cup brown sugar packed
- ½ cup molasses not blackstrap
- 1 egg
- ¼ cup sugar for rolling the cookies
Instructions
- In a separate bowl whisk flour, salt, baking soda, ginger, nutmeg, pepper, allspice, and cinnamon together and set aside.
- In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, or a hand mixer with a large bowl, on medium speed beat the butter until smooth and creamy. Add the brown sugar and molasses and beat until incorporated. This will take about 2 min, making sure you scrape down the sides of the bowl on occasion. Add the egg and beat for another min.
- Reduce the speed to low and add the dry ingredients. You want to mix until all of the dry ingredients just disappear. This will give a very soft dough. If there are some dry ingredient remnants in the bottom of the bowl mix those in by hand to avoid overmixing.
- Divide the dough in half, wrap in plastic wrap, and place in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F/Gas Mark 4 with a rack centered in the oven.
- Place the sugar in a bowl. Cut one of the portions of dough into 12 sections and roll each into a ball with your palms. Then roll the ball in sugar to completely coat it and place on the baking sheet.
- Making sure each cookie has enough space to spread out take the glass and depress the cookies down until they reach a thickness of about ½ inch.
- Bake cookies one sheet at a time for about 12-15 min, or until the tops feel set to the touch. Then remove from the oven. If the cookies are touching each other take a metal spatula and separate them while they are still hot. Transfer them to a rack after they have cooled down a little to finish cooling.
- Repeat with the second batch.
Oh my gosh these cookies are wonderful. I made them to include in my Christmas cookie give away.