Soft Ginger Molasses Cookies

Looking for the perfect soft ginger molasses cookies? I got ya covered with these deliciously fluffly ginger molasses cookies.

Not only are these cookies soft and fully, but they have just the right balance of sweet and spicy. My favorite part? They have juuuust enough crisp around the edges – yet are still soft and yielding in the middle. I don’t love gingersnaps – I like ginger cookies that border on a cake like texture! And these are perfect.

These cookies are perfect for when the holidays roll around. I take them to parties, cookie exchanges, and to neighbors.

(In the fall months, I also bake and share these healthy pumpkin chocolate chip cookies and this pumpkin gingerbread! And if I know people have dietary restrictions, I share my gluten-free ginger molasses cookies instead!)

Soft Ginger Cookies

I really loved my Aunt Joyce’s ginger cookies growing up, and the original recipe is pretty darn good. (Pictured below.) But I took her recipe, tweaked it just a little for some of my baking preferences – subbing butter for oil, adding cloves (one of my favorite spices) and replacing coconut sugar for cane sugar. The result was a batch of soft, fluffy ginger cookies that are incredibly flavorful! My husband said he could smell them even before he fully opened the door when he came home after I spent the day in the kitchen recipe testing!

These cookies remind me so much of my childhood and visiting my late Aunt Joyce and Uncle Max, both of whom I loved dearly. I hope you love these as much as I do and make some family memories that involve these cookies!

Ingredients

This recipe yields about 30-32 cookies that are about 2” in diameter once baked.

Dry Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
Cane sugar for coating the cookies before baking.

Wet ingredients
¾ cup butter, completely softened at room temperature (don’t melt it in the microwave!)
1 cup coconut sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup blackstrap molasses

Since cookies always get a bad rap, let’s check out the nutritional benefits of these ingredients! (As if we needed any more excuses to eat these cookies)

All-purpose flour is a basic ingredient in any baker’s kitchen! It’s not the healthiest flour to bake with, but since I wanted a fluffy cookie, all-purpose flour is one of the best ways to get that texture! Whole wheat flour can make cookies a bit denser.

Coconut sugar is still sugar but it’s not as processed as white cane sugar. I also find it has a richer flavor, which lends itself nicely to baking.

Spices – Cinnamon, cloves and ginger are spice powerhouse! Between the three of them, there have been studies that show improvements in cholesterol and blood sugar control. They also have antibacterial, antiseptic, antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory effects. Ginger is especially known for its soothing effect on digestion.

Butter helps make the cookies rich and flavorful. And, it’s much less processed than many oils that are typically used in baking, like canola or vegetable oil. And saturated fat, while often vilified, is important for brain health! That’s not a free pass to eat a stick of a butter, but eliminating all fats shouldn’t be the goal. I try to choose fat sources, like butter, that are closer to a real-food source.

Blackstrap Molasses contains a solid amount of calcium and magnesium (1 Tbsp = 8% and 10% respectively) even though it’s a byproduct of the sugar cane’s refining process. It’s also rich in B vitamins, particularly B6. It lends an incredibly rich flavor to these cookies!

Eggs help bind the cookies together and are contain many vitamins, minerals, and carotenoids.

Instructions

Step 1

Make sure your butter is softened before starting the recipe. It needs at least one hour on the kitchen counter.

Step 2

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon and cloves.

Step 3

In a large bowl, using a hand mixer, cream together the butter, sugar, egg and molasses until lighter in color and fluffy (about 5 minutes). Stop mixing if it starts to look like it’s forming any sort of clumps.

Step 4

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined.

Step 5

Cover the bowl and place it in the fridge to chill for at least an hour.*

Step 6

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Step 7

Use your hands to roll the dough into 1 ½” balls and place them on the baking sheets, about 2 inches apart.

Step 8

Bake for 7-9 minutes. Don’t overbake — they will set more as they cool!

Step 9

Move to a cooling rack to cool completely before enjoying and storing. Enjoy!

Variations

Butter Substitute

You can use canola or vegetable oil in place of the butter, but it’s not my first choice. You can use a vegan butter, like Earth Balance or margarine more successfully. I haven’t tested coconut oil, but it should work. It may change the flavor, however.

This post is helpful in understanding how changing the fat from butter to oil or margarine will impact your cookie results.

Sugar

I used coconut sugar in the dough and then rolled in cane sugar. You can use regular granulated cane sugar in the dough if you prefer. Note that your cookies will appear lighter in color than mine.

Storage

Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days (if you don’t eat them before then!!). These also freeze well!

Gluten Free

I haven’t made these with a gluten-free flour blend so I can’t vouch for the results If you try it, let me know. Or, you can try this gluten free chewy ginger cookie recipe!

 

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