There are ginger cookies, and then there are Deb Perelman’s ginger cookies. The creator of Smitten Kitchen spent years perfecting her ideal ginger molasses cookie: thick, soft and chewy in the centre, slightly crisp at the edges and packed with warming spices.
Made with dark molasses, ground ginger and finely chopped crystallized ginger, these are the kind of cookies you’ll want to bake well beyond the holidays. Here’s how Deb finally got them just right.
“These cookies are my winter obsession. I had been on the hunt for a thick, soft-but-not-too-cakey, deeply spiced, and a little kicky dark-molasses cookie for as long as I could remember. I tried dozens over the years, but none were exactly right.” —Deb Perelman
Soft and Chewy Ginger Cookies
Ingredients
- 2⅓ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¾ cup unsalted butter melted, cooled slightly
- ½ cup molasses (see note)
- ⅔ cup dark brown sugar packed
- 1 large egg yolk
- 3 tablespoons crystallized ginger finely chopped
- 6 tablespoons granulated or turbinado sugar for rolling
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Whisk the flour, spices, baking soda, salt and pepper in a large bowl until fully mixed. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Pour in the melted butter, molasses, brown sugar, yolk, and candied ginger. Whisk these together in the center a couple times (until the egg yolk is dispersed); then switch to a spoon or rubber spatula to continue mixing. The dough will be very thick!
- Scoop the dough into balls (you can use a medium cookie scoop – 1½ tablespoons) or take just shy of 2 tablespoons of dough for each cookie. Roll each in your hands briefly to shape it into a ball, then roll balls in the granulated or turbinado sugar for coating.
- Space the cookies evenly on the parchment-lined baking sheet and bake until top is slightly firm to the touch, about 10 to 12 minutes.
- Let cookies cool for five minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. The cookies will set as they cool.
Notes
- To make the perfect soft and chewy ginger cookie, you want what looks like a quite underbaked cookie. The cookie will look totally soft on top (you may think it’s raw), but if you lift a cookie and see that the bottom is one shade darker than the rest of the cookie, you’ll know that they’re done.
- You can use either unsulphured or blackstrap molasses here; I’ve tested it with both. If you can’t get molasses where you are, use treacle.
- You can make dough one week ahead and keep refrigerated in airtight container. Remove an hour before baking.
- Baked cookies will last for two weeks in a sealed container.
ELLE Gourmet Tips
- Why are my ginger cookies hard instead of chewy?
- Overbaking is one of the most common reasons ginger cookies turn hard. For this recipe, remove them when the tops still look slightly soft. They’ll firm up as they cool.
- Can I make ginger cookie dough ahead of time?
- Yes. This dough can be made up to one week ahead and refrigerated in an airtight container. Remove it from the refrigerator about an hour before baking.
- What’s the difference between ginger cookies and ginger molasses cookies?
- Ginger cookies get their flavour primarily from ginger, while ginger molasses cookies also contain molasses, which adds a deeper flavour, darker colour and chewy texture. This recipe uses both ground and crystallized ginger along with molasses.
- Can I use blackstrap molasses in ginger cookies?
- Yes. Deb Perelman has tested this recipe with both unsulphured and blackstrap molasses. You can also substitute treacle if molasses isn’t available.
Excerpted from Smitten Kitchen Keepers: New Classics for Your Forever Files. Copyright © 2022 by Deb Perelman. Photography copyright © 2022 by Deb Perelman. Book Design by Cassandra J. Pappas. Jacket Photography by Deb Perelman. Food Styling by Barret Washburne. Published by Appetite by Random House, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.
