These ginger molasses cookies are soft and puffy from a little added baking soda, and get an extra kick of ginger from diced pieces of candied ginger.
These cookies are crowd pleasers of all ages and are ready in 30 minutes.
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Cookies are popular any time of year, but Christmas is when I really love to bake cookies. I make snickerdoodles with dried figs every year, and these butter cookies rolled in festive sugar.
They're perfect for anyone wanting to make a festive cookie that doesn't require an art degree.
Ginger cookies are another crowd-pleasing cookie, and these have little sugared ginger chunks in them.
โค๏ธ Why you'll love this recipe
- Super easy to make and they're ready in 30 minutes.
- Little pieces of sugared ginger give this cookie a little extra kick of ginger.
- Popular cookie with kids and adults alike.
- Transportable if taking these to a pot luck party.
๐ง Main Ingredients + Notes
The secret to faster and easier meals often lies in the ingredients. For example, store-bought items and ingredients you make ahead and store in the refrigerator (or freezer) can turn a 60-minute recipe into a 30-minute meal or less.
For all of the ingredients, measurements, and directions, go to the Recipe Card at the bottom of this post.
- Unsalted butter
- Granulated sugar
- Egg
- Molasses
- Sugared ginger pieces - Get the larger chunks of ginger coated in sugar and cut them into small pieces using a sharp knife.
- All-purpose flour
- Spices
- Baking soda
- Turbinado sugar - this is a coarse raw sugar that works well as a finishing sugar on baked goods and for rolling cookie dough.
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links to products and foods I use in my kitchen. This means that at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. To view my entire storefront of recommended kitchen tools and equipment, check out my shop on Amazon.
๐ช Recommended Equipment
Having the right equipment for recipes makes prepping much easier. If you want more fuss-free prepping and cooking, check out my updated list ofย favorite kitchen tools and equipment.
- Cookie sheets
- Standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment
- Kitchen scales
- Large mixing bowl
- Cooling rack
๐ฏ Why This Recipe Works
- The butter and sugar are beaten together until fluffy which means a fair amount of air is added. This contributes to a soft cookie.
- Adding a little baking soda makes the cookies a little puffy.
- Reducing the speed when the flour mixture is added keeps you from overworking the flour. This is also why the flour is added in thirds instead of all at once.
- You don't use too much flour when you weigh the flour, giving you a very consistent cookie. And when you weigh the cookie dough balls before arranging them on a cookie sheet, the cookies are the same size and bake evenly.
๐ฉโ๐ณ Tip for Success
Use cookie sheets instead of baking sheets.
- Cookie sheets are unrimmed and often have a double thickness for insulation. This provides an even temperature for the cookies as they bake and helps to protect the bottoms from burning.
- Baking sheets are designed for roasting and are rimmed on all four sides.
โฐ Make-Ahead Tip
If you make the dough ahead of time and want to freeze it, here are the steps to follow.
- Roll the dough into individual balls as instructed in the Recipe Card, and arrange them on a sheet that fits in your freezer.
- Freeze until solid, and then transfer the frozen balls of dough to a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 1 month.
- When you're ready to bake the cookies, transfer the frozen dough balls to a cookie sheet to thaw. Roll them in the sugar, as directed, and bake.
๐ง Best way to store
- Store in an airtight container on the counter for 4 - 5 days.
- Freeze in a freezer-safe container for 2 - 3 months.
๐กIdeas for Possible Variations
Use spices that work best for you and your family. I often substitute the clove powder with cardamom because I love cardamom so much.
๐๏ธ Making This Recipe at High Altitude
- At 7000 feet where I live, I add 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter to the recommended ยพ cup of butter.
- Bake for 15 minutes or until the edges begin to firm up.
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Soft Ginger Molasses Cookies
Ingredients
- ยพ cup unsalted butter room temperature
- ยพ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- ยผ cup molasses
- 2 ยผ cups (10.125 ounces) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- ยฝ teaspoon baking soda
- ยพ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ยฝ teaspoon ground cloves
- ยผ cup sugared ginger chunks cut into small pieces
- ยฝ teaspoon kosher salt
- ยผ cup Turbinado coarse sugar or granulated sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350หF and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- Using a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about 4 - 5 minutes. Beat in egg. When thoroughly incorporated, add the molasses.
- In a separate mixing bowl whisk together the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Set the mixer to the lowest speed and add the dry ingredients to the butter-sugar mixture in thirds. Beat on low only until the flour is completely mixed in.
- Pour some of the Turbinado sugar onto a small plate. Roll the dough into 1 ยฝ" balls that weigh anywhere from .8 to 1 ounce. Roll the balls of dough in the Turbinado sugar and arrange them 2 inches apart on the cookie sheets. These cookies will spread.
- Bake for 10 - 12 minutes or until the edges begin to firm up and the cookies are puffy. Cool on cooling racks.
Becca from It's Yummi!
Ginger molasses? Oh... I'm swooning!
Lynn @ Turnips 2 Tangerines
They must have smelled heavenly while baking~ Happy Holidays~ Lynn @ Turnips 2 Tangerines
Debbi
These are my husbands favorite! They sound sooooooo good! Great pictures!
Erin @ Making Memories
Your cookies sound delicious! We love molasses cookies!
Nicole
Yum! I made ginger molasses cookies too, but I love your addition of crystallized ginger chunks.
danielle
Love the chunks of ginger in here - these sound fantastic!
Our Eating Habits
Great choice. Soft, Ginger, Molasses, words to my ears. What you have there is my very favorite cookie.
Heather @ Join Us, Pull up a Chair
Oh another cookie that's perfect for the holidays! I bet my kids would love these! Happy Holidays.
Jess @ Flying on Jess Fuel
So glad you picked these!! They are my all time favorite cookie and one that I make EVERY year!! Nothing says holidays like some molasses and spice!! ๐
The Wimpy Vegetarian
I'll be making these every year too, Jess! We've been eating them every day and just love them. I'm making your oatmeal cookie next ๐ Happy Holidays to you and Nick!
Rebekah @ Making Miracles
These look FABULOUS!! Perfect for December - soft, sweet, and spicy. Yumm!
Lauren @ Sew You Think You Can Cook
Gingersnaps are best served soft, in my opinion. Your cookies are beautiful.
Tara
Beautiful photo! Perfect pick for the holidays.
SallyBR
Yeah, baby! We picked very similar cookies, and that of course means GREAT MINDS PICK COOKIES ALIKE!
๐
what a fun event this month!
Happy Holidays for you!
The Wimpy Vegetarian
That's exACTly what it means. If it were the first day of school, we'd be wearing the same colors ๐ Very fun event this month. How do you find the time with your very full time job!? Really impressive - you must be very organized!!
Leigh
Hi Susan - these cookies look like they've been cooked to perfection. Just beautiful!
Wendy, A Day in the Life on the Farm
Great choice for a holiday cookie. Merry Christmas.
cheri
Hi Susan, I need to get on the ball and start baking some cookies, these look delicious!
Laura Dembowski
I just love cookies like this around Christmas! So festive and flavorful!
Choc Chip Uru
One of my favourite holiday cookies, this looks delicious ๐
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Sarah
Yum. Spice cookies always smell so good...perfect for Christmas!
Thalia @ butter and brioche
I love ginger and molasses cookies.. these definitely will be perfect for Christmas time, a recipe I must make.
THE HUNGRY MUM
these look great - my mum loves ginger anything so I may just have to make her some of these cookies.