Ginger-spiked molasses spice cookies are perfect for cold weather and the holidays! With five warming spices and fancy molasses, this is a crowd favourite.
Recipe excerpted from Earth to Table Bakes by Bettina Schormann and Erin Schiestel. Photography by Sophie MacKenzie.
Molasses spice cookies, made with fancy molasses alongside a big hit of spice from cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and allspice. The perfect fall and winter holiday cookie.
From the book: “These ginger cookies are the perfect combination of chewy and crisp. The rolling sugar adds sweetness and a slight crunch to the spicy, chewy middles.” We agree!
Baked and crumbled, these would make a great cheesecake base, especially at Christmas time. Try them in place of graham crackers in our no-bake cheesecake.
Ingredients
Method
Add the shortening, a cup of sugar, and molasses to a large mixing bowl. Beat on high speed until light and fluffy. 
Beat in the egg, and then add the baking soda and spices. Mix to combine. Add the flour. Mix on low speed until just combined. Mix by hand to ensure ingredients are well combined. Form balls of dough, then roll in the remaining sugar. Place each ball onto the baking sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes.
Tips and Notes
Don’t be tempted to mix the spices in with the flour and call it a day! Fat acts as a carrier for flavour, so by adding the dry spices to the shortening mixture, you’re ensuring a stronger, more well-rounded flavour in the cookies.
The recipe header in the book states: “Be sure to cream the shortening and sugar for the suggested time. It needs to be very light and fluffy to ensure that the cookies spread the right amount and to ensure the perfect final texture.”
Fancy molasses is the sweetest type of molasses, so using a different kind will result in cookies that are much less sweet.
We baked these cookies for 14 minutes, rather than the suggested 15-20, turning the pan in the oven after 7 minutes.
Substitutions
The recipe calls for vegetable shortening, so coconut oil should work very well here. Use refined coconut oil to avoid any light coconut flavour.
Try rolling the cookies in vanilla sugar for a little something extra.
The spices could be changed to suit your personal preferences. Cardamom, for example, would be a nice substitute for cloves.
Fresh ginger might be a nice addition to the cookies in place of dry, but we haven’t tried this. An equal amount but very finely grated could work, but it would change the flavour of the cookies.
Chopped crystallized ginger would be a great addition here. You could also roll the cookies in a coarser sugar rather than the plain sugar used in the cookie dough.
More Spiced Cookie Recipes
Sugar and Spice Cookies
Chewy Vegan Ginger Cookies
Cinnamon Sugar Cookies
Vegan Gingerbread Cookies
Recipe
Ginger Molasses Spice Cookies
A ginger-spiked molasses spice cookie is perfect for cold weather and the holidays! With five warming spices and fancy molasses, this is a crowd favourite.
Excerpted from Earth to Table Bakes by Bettina Schormann and Erin Schiestel. Copyright © 2021 Bettina Schormann and Erin Schiestel. Photography ©2021 Maya Visnyei Photography. Published by Penguin Canada, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.
Ingredients
- 1 cup vegetable shortening
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar, divided
- ¼ cup fancy molasses
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the shortening, 1 cup of the sugar, and the molasses on high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
- Reduce the speed to medium. Add the egg and increase the speed to high and mix for about 3 more minutes to increase the volume. Reduce the speed to medium.
- Add the baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, ginger, cloves, and allspice. Mix to combine.
- Turn off the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. Add the flour and mix on low speed until just combined.
- Remove the bowl from the stand mixer. Stir the batter with a spatula or wooden spoon to be sure the ingredients are well combined.
- Place the remaining ½ cup of sugar in a medium bowl. Roll the cookie dough into 1- inch (2.5 cm) balls, the equivalent of about 2 tablespoons of dough. Drop each dough ball into the sugar and turn it to coat completely.
- Arrange the cookies on the prepared baking sheets about 2 inches (5 cm) apart.
- Bake for 15 to 20* minutes, turning the baking sheets after 10 minutes, until the edges of the cookies start to turn golden brown. Because these cookies are quite dark, determining when they are done can be tricky. In addition to the edges starting to brown, the cookies should be slightly puffed and the tops should be starting to crack.
- Let cool completely. Baked edit: the recipe doesn't specify whether to cool on the sheet, or on a rack. We suggest 5 minutes on the sheet before removing to cool fully on a rack.
- Serve immediately or store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Notes
* We enjoyed these cookies best at the lower end of the baking window—bake for 7 minutes before turning for another 7 minutes, for a total of 14 minutes.
Don’t be tempted to mix the spices in with the flour and call it a day! Fat acts as a carrier for flavour, so by adding the dry spices to the shortening mixture, you’re ensuring a stronger, more well-rounded flavour in the cookies.
The recipe header in the book states: “Be sure to cream the shortening and sugar for the suggested time. It needs to be very light and fluffy to ensure that the cookies spread the right amount and to ensure the perfect final texture.”
Fancy molasses is the sweetest type of molasses, so using a different kind will result in cookies that are much less sweet.
Substitutions
The recipe calls for vegetable shortening, so coconut oil should work very well here. Use refined coconut oil to avoid any light coconut flavour.
Try rolling the cookies in vanilla sugar for a little something extra.
The spices could be changed to suit your personal preferences. Cardamom, for example, would be a nice substitute for cloves.
Fresh ginger might be a nice addition to the cookies in place of dry, but we haven’t tried this. An equal amount but very finely grated could work, but it would change the flavour of the cookies.
Chopped crystallized ginger would be a great addition here. You could also roll the cookies in a coarser sugar rather than the plain sugar used in the cookie dough.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
20Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 224Total Fat: 11gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 15mgSodium: 194mgCarbohydrates: 30gFiber: 1gSugar: 18gProtein: 2g
This is an approximation of the nutrition offered in this recipe, and is created using a nutrition calculator.
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