Soft and Spicy Ginger Cookies

When fall rolls around, I get the biggest craving for these cookies. I imagine them warm and soft and on a plate next to a warm mug of cider. Like the name indicates, these cookies are soft and chewy and have a spicy flavor that's not shy about making itself known.

They start out with butter and sugar.

Cream everything together until it's fluffy. Try not to stick your finger in the bowl.

Next comes an egg and some salt. Beat them together.

Now comes more sugar. Or, to be more specific (and to make you feel less guilty), molasses.

A nice trick I've learned with the molasses is to spray your measuring cup with some cooking spray. It allows the molasses to run out easier so you won't have to scrape the measuring cup to get every last bit out.

Beat the molasses in with the sugar/butter/egg mixture.

I'll have to admit, it doesn't look super appealing after adding the molasses. Smells good, though.

Next are the dry ingredients. Flour, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves.

Once the flour's incorporated, you can start rolling these guys out. If you remember my Pink-Sanded Sugar Cookies, you'll know that I like to use an ice cream scoop to parcel out cookie dough.

And, like the sugar cookies, I roll these cookies in sugar. You can use decorating sugar, but today I just used regular sugar. Sometimes I use a mix of white and raw sugars to give them even more molasses-y flavor.

The trick with these cookies is to smoosh them down a little. They don't spread out a lot when they bake, and you'll get some pretty fat cookies if you don't smoosh (which, if you like thicker cookies, isn't all bad.)











Bake these cookies and then enjoy them with a mug of hot cider or cocoa.

Recipe: Soft and Spicy Ginger Cookies

3/4 c. butter, softened

1/2 c. white sugar

1/2 c. brown sugar

1 egg

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 c. molasses

1 tbsp. water

2 1/4 c. flour

2 tsp. ginger

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. cloves

1 tsp. baking soda

Preheat oven to 350F.

Cream butter and sugars.

Add egg and salt; stir well.

Add molasses and water; stir well.

Add flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, salt, and baking soda. Stir gently until just combined.

Roll cookies into balls and cover with white or raw sugars. Smoosh cookies down.

Bake on greased cookie sheets 8-10 minutes. Allow cookie sheets to cool slightly before moving to cooling racks.