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Home » Recipes » Cookies & Bars

Ginger Molasses Spice Cookies

Published: Oct 28, 2021 · Modified: Jun 3, 2022 by Alexandra Daum · This post may contain affiliate links · Leave a Comment

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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.

Several spice cookies arranged on small plates with milk in glasses.

Recipe excerpted from Earth to Table Bakes by Bettina Schormann and Erin Schiestel. Photography by Sophie MacKenzie.

Ginger molasses 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.

Jump to:
  • Recommended Tools
  • Ingredients
  • Method
  • Recipe Notes
  • Substitutions and Variations
  • FAQ
  • Recipe

Baked cookies in a group of 12 on a marble background.

Use the JUMP TO RECIPE button at the top, or scroll to the bottom of the post to see the printable recipe card with full ingredient measurements and complete instructions.

Recommended Tools

  • 2 baking sheets
  • Parchment paper
  • Stand mixer or electric mixer
  • Measuring cups and spoons or a digital kitchen scale
  • Spatula or wooden spoon
  • Mixing bowl
  • Wire rack

Ingredients

Ginger molasses spice cookie ingredients.
  • Flour: plain all-purpose white flour.
  • Vegetable Shortening: this can be any oil that’s solid at room temperature, like coconut oil.
  • Fancy Molasses: try to look specifically for fancy, not regular molasses.
  • Egg: one large egg, best at room temperature.
  • Baking Soda and Salt
  • Spices: cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and allspice.

Keep scrolling to see clear and detailed process shots, as well as tips and notes to help you make Ginger Molasses Cookies perfectly the first time!

Method

Sugar, shortening, and molasses in a large mixing bowl.
Add the shortening, a cup of sugar, and molasses to a large mixing bowl.
Shortening mixture after mixing fully.
Beat on high speed until light and fluffy.
Spices and baking soda added to the bowl.
Beat in the egg, and then add the baking soda and spices.
Spices fully mixed into the dough..
Mix to combine.
Dry ingredients added to the mixing bowl.
Add the flour.
Dough with paddle attachment after mixing dry ingredients in.
Mix on low speed until just combined.
Finished dough in the mixing bowl.
Mix by hand to ensure ingredients are well combined.
Three balls of dough in a bowl of white sugar.
Form balls of dough, then roll in the remaining sugar.
Ten cookies arranged on
Place each ball onto the baking sheet.
Cookies after baking, on the baking sheet.
Bake for 15-20 minutes.

TOP TIPS
1. Don’t skip the rolling. The sugar roll makes these cookies spectacular – don’t skip it!
2. Try adding chocolate. If you want to change things up, make these into chocolate spice cookies with a handful of chocolate chips.
3. Change up the spices. Use spices you like the most and omit those that aren’t to your taste.

Recipe 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.

How to Store and Freeze Molasses Cookies

  • To Store: store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
  • To Freeze: place in an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months.
Close up of a crinkly cookie on marble background.

Substitutions and Variations

  • 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.

FAQ

What does molasses do in cookies?

Like any liquid sweetener, molasses will make cookies a bit softer and chewier. These cookies get a bit of crunch from rolling in sugar, but they’re mostly super soft and chewy, just right for a spice cookie.

What’s the difference between molasses cookies and gingerbread?

Molasses cookies are soft, while gingerbread is meant to be a long lasting, snappy biscuit. Gingerbread should be crisp and then a tiny bit chewy in the middle, while these are more chewy all the way through.

What’s fancy molasses?

It’s the sweetest type and often used as a topping rather than a baking ingredient. It’s lighter and sweeter than other types, and can’t be subbed 1:1 for regular molasses.

More Spiced Cookie Recipes

Sugar and Spice Cookies
Chewy Vegan Ginger Cookies
Cinnamon Sugar Cookies
Vegan Gingerbread Cookies
Eggnog Cookies

Four cookies stacked on a small plate, with one leaning against the stack.

If you make this recipe, let us know by tagging @baked_theblog + #bakedtheblog on Instagram! We love to feel like we’re in the kitchen with you.

Recipe

Several spice cookies arranged on small plates with milk in glasses.

Ginger Molasses Spice Cookies

No ratings yet
Author: Bettina Schormann and Erin Schiestel
Yield: 20
Prep Time 15 mins
Cook Time 15 mins
Total Time 30 mins
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Description

 

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.

Equipment

  • 2 baking sheets
  • Parchment paper
  • Stand mixer
  • Measuring cups and spoons or a digital kitchen scale
  • Spatula or wooden spoon
  • Mixing bowl
  • Wire rack

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

Serving: 1g | Calories: 224kcal | Carbohydrates: 30g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 15mg | Sodium: 194mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 18g
Did you make this recipe?Let us know on Instagram @baked_theblog or tag #bakedtheblog!

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