Late last year I made plans to do a holiday cookie series of postings.  But oh the challenges of owning a small business.  At the time, I went through some major employee issues with both my 2 new employees so much that I never got to finish highlighting my holiday cookies.  So since I have more time now, I decided I would highlight one of those cookies.

Ginger cookies.  I am a big fan of ginger.   I use it a lot in my savory cooking but not so much in my sweet cooking.  So I decided it was time I really highlighted this wonderful spice.  And when I came across this recipe, I felt it was time.  Please check out the recipe below.

Place the flour in a medium bowl.

Add ground ginger …

Baking soda …

Cocoa powder …

Ground black pepper (OF NOTE: I am not a fan of spiced cookies so I decided not to add cinnamon and cardamom) …

And salt.

Mix all the dry ingredients well and set aside.

In a large bowl, add the granulated sugar …

Add the brown sugar (or in my case muscavado sugar).

Oil …

Molasses …

Egg and beat until well combined.

Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients.

Add the candied ginger.

Mix well.

This is what the dough will look like when ready for the next step.

Even though the recipe does not require it, I decided to actually measure out each ball after I cooked my first batch and they came out enormous.

I ended up with 16 cookies.

I rolled each portion into a ball.

Then rolled each ball into the sparkling sugar.

Portioned out the cookie dough onto the baking trays.

Then baked the cookies for abut 8 minutes.

Cookies cooling on the rack.

So what did I really think of the cookies?  Honestly,  I did not enjoy them as much as I thought I would.  I think the main reason is because I do not enjoy spiced cookies.  And even though I did not add the cinnamon (which by the way I also dislike with a passion), it still tasted too spiced cookie.  But I know that there are other people out there who enjoy them and this is to you.

Ginger Molasses Cookies

Ingredients
  

  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 4 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon natural unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 2/3 cup canola oil
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/4 cup unsulfured molasses
  • 1/2 cup candied ginger cut into 1/4 inch dices
  • 1/2 cup sparkling or turbinado sugar

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • In a medium bowl, whisk flour, ground ginger, baking soda, cocoa powder, cinnamon, cardamom, pepper and salt together.
  • In a large bowl, whisk granulated and brown sugars with oil, egg, and molasses.
  • Add dry ingredients and candied ginger and stir until just combined.
  • Scrap the dough out onto a work surface and pat into a thick disk.
  • Cut disk into 12-wedges and roll each wedge into a ball. NOTE: because the first batch of baked cookies were enormous, I made a change to the size per the following steps.
  • Scoop dough onto a parchment paper lined scale.
  • Measure each dough piece at 2 oz. Please note this was a change from the original recipe because I found the first batch of cookies cooked were too big.
  • Roll each dough into a ball and then roll each ball in the turbinado or sparkling sugar.
  • Arrange balls about 2 inches apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
  • Bake cookies for 8 to 10 minutes, until just set at the edges: rotate sheets from top to bottom and front to back half through baking.
  • Let cookies cool on baking sheets for 10 minutes, then transfer them to a rack to cool completely.

Notes

This recipe is from Agatha Kulaga of Ovenly, bakery in NYC and was featured in Food & Wine Holiday Baking.

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