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Soft Ginger-Molasses Cookies and Ginger Syrup


Dark, rich, and soft/chewy, these are everything you'd expect in an old-fashioned ginger-molasses cookie. For a slightly lighter cookie with milder, more "gingery" flavor, substitute ginger syrup (recipe below) for some of the molasses, as directed. Read our blog about these cookies, with additional photos, at Bakers' Banter.

Ingredients

Cookies

  • 1 cup unsalted butter
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup molasses OR 1/4 cup molasses + 1/4 cup ginger syrup
  • 2 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons ground cloves
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 2 large eggs
  • 3 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
  • sugar, for coating; pearl sugar; sparkling white (coarse) sugar; or granulated sugar

Ginger syrup

  • 4 cups fresh ginger root, unpeeled, cut into 1/8" to ¼" slices (a food processor makes short work of this task)
  • 3 1/2 cups sugar
  • 3 1/2 cups water

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) two baking sheets.

1) In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until they're light and fluffy.

2) Beat in the molasses (or molasses and ginger syrup), baking soda, salt, and spices.

3) Add the eggs, beating well and scraping down the sides of the bowl to make sure everything is incorporated.

4) Stir in the flour.

5) Scoop the soft dough into 1 ½" balls; a tablespoon cookie scoop works well here.

6) Roll them in granulated sugar, coarse sugar, or pearl sugar.

7) Space the cookies on the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 2 ½" between them.

8) Bake them for 10 minutes. The centers will look soft and puffy; that's OK.

9) Remove the cookies from the oven, and cool them on the pan for 10 minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool completely.

10) To make easy, pretty shaped cookies, use a cutter smaller than the cookie to cut a shape from the center of each cookie, while the cookies are still mildly warm. Serve both the original cookies, and the shapes you've cut from them.

11) To make ginger syrup: In a large, heavy saucepan, bring the ginger, sugar, and water to a boil.

12) Boil the mixture for 45 to 60 minutes, until it registers 216°F to 220°F on an instant-read or candy thermometer. The lower temperature will give you a thinner syrup, one that's easy to stir into drinks; the higher temperature will yield a thicker syrup, better for baking. You can't tell how thick the syrup will be while it's still hot; you have to go by its temperature, as it'll thicken as it cools.

13) Remove the pan from the burner and carefully strain the syrup into a non-reactive container. Store in the refrigerator indefinitely. Yield: about 2 1/4 cups syrup.

Recipe summary

Hands-on time:
15 mins. to 20 mins.
Baking time:
10 mins. to 10 mins.
Total time:
25 mins. to 30 mins.
Yield:
Rate recipe
****+
Recipe comments (5) »

Tips from our bakers

  • Which sugar is best for coating these cookies? Well, take your pick: granulated sugar (1/2 cup) will disappear as the cookies bake, leaving merely the faintest crunch on the crust. Coarse white sugar (1 cup) will add sparkle and mild crunch. Bright white pearl sugar (a heaping 1 cup) will add contrast and a more assertive crunch.
  • For a lighter-colored, even more gingery cookie, use 1/2 cup ginger syrup in place of the 1/2 cup molasses. Increase the ground ginger to 1 1/4 teaspoons, and decrease the ground cloves to 1/2 teaspoon. Add 1 cup diced crystallized ginger to the dough at the same time you add the flour. Bake the cookies for 11 minutes.

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Reviews

Page:   1  
*****

08/24/2009

Linda from Wesley, ME

This was a very easy recipe to follow. The results are superb. The taste of ginger is very subtle. I made it without the syrup then tried it with the syrup it is worth making the syrup. I have shared the recipe with everyone I shared the cookies with because they wanted it the minute they tasted them. Thanks for sharing!

*****

12/18/2008

Melissa from Virginia

These are perfect! I made these with just the molasses and oh my, they are just awesome! Soft and chewy inside and a nice crunch on the outside. I have a new favorite cookie.

*****

12/16/2008

Mylene from The Woodlands, Texas

TAste is great-I used only molasses not the ginger syrup. prep very easy. Presentation nice-I used coarse colored sugars so they fit in great for Christmas. I am bringing these to a cookie exchange so I double the recipe (need 8 dz) I used a #100 scoop-not sure how much that is maybe around a tablespoon or so. The DOUBLE recipe made atleast 14 dozen. The last sheet or so I used a larger scoop which made balls the size of a ping pong ball. The "easy" cookie cutter shapes after baking is AWESOME! After all these years of baking sugar cookies and rolling them out then trying to preserve the shape during and after baking....this new method that I just tried is great. Thanks soooo much for the tip!!!!

*****

11/22/2008

Kathy Jaehnig from Grand Haven, MI

My German grandmother made these cookies every Xmas and dusted them in confectioner's sugar whle they were warm on the cooling rack. I just made them last night to give for early Xmas gifts! They are fabulous and the recipe is very quick and easy.

*****

11/22/2008

Michelle from Wappingers Falls, NY

I was thinking about making these cookies for a while now and finally got around to it. They were everything I wanted and expected. I plan on adding this cookie to my holiday cookie list...but really I think they are a year round cookie in my book. I didn't make the ginger syrup and used the 1/2 cup of molasses. I also used two different size cookie scoops. The 1 tablespoon size I have doesn't work well and so I also used a 2 teaspoon size one as well. I baked the smaller cookies for one minute less and they came out great. I have the course sugar which does give them a nice crunch. I experimented a little with using no sugar, granulated sugar and a mixture of course and granulated sugar. They are good any way you coat them but course sugar was the most satisfying.

Page:   1