better homes and gardens sugar cookie recipe with shortening

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.

close up of ginger molasses cookies on rack

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!

close up shot of ginger cookies on sheet pan

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:

Gingerbread Sheet Cake
Oaty Ginger Crunch
Ginger Caramel Slice
Gingerbread Layer Cake

ginger sugar cookies on sheet pan corner shot

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!

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!

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

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