These Ginger Molasses Cookies are made with sweet and spicy ground ginger along with a mixture of warm holiday spices. There are also surprised pieces of candied ginger mixed into the dough. They are soft and spicy, and irresistibly delicious.
Every year for as long as I can remember, with the exception of the year I had my baby right around the holidays, I’ve always baked a kitchen full of cookies to give out to friends and family. A few years back, I made these molasses ginger cookies with crystallized ginger as part of a virtual Christmas cookie swap since I won’t be able to hand deliver cookies to all the lovely friends I’ve made through this wonderful blogging community.
While it’s really hard to pick a favorite from my big list of holiday cookies, I have to admit these special candied ginger cookies are definitely at the top of the list. They are not quite the typical ginger molasses cookies, which is part of the reason why I’m drawn to them. I hope you’ll enjoy them too!
Table of Contents
Why you’ll love this recipe
- So much flavors! These molasses ginger cookies are spiced with lots of sweet ground ginger, along with cinnamon, a hint of allspice, nutmeg and cloves. There are also diced crystallized ginger mixed into the dough for an extra dose of gingery goodness.
- Soft and a little chewy – made with softened butter, these cookies boast softer texture than your typical chewy ginger molasses cookies with burst of chewy candied ginger pieces.
- Good year round – readers have made these cookies year round, not just for the holiday, so don’t limit your option!
Tools you’ll need
I use my trusted stand mixer with the paddle attachment to make the cookie dough. An inexpensive electric hand mixer with a large mixing bowl will work just as well, no need to go out and spend hundreds on the stand mixer.
I also love my cookie scoop to get even portions of cookie dough. If you like to bake cookies, definitely invest in a cookie scoop, or a few. I own several with different sizes.
Ingredients and substitutions
As always, you’ll find the complete list of ingredients and quantities in the recipe card at the end of this post. Below are some notes and substitution tips:
- Candied ginger – or crystallized ginger, you can get these in bulk or prepackaged at most grocery store. We usually get ours at Sprouts whenever Thanksgiving comes around and Ryan’s getting ready to make his roast turkey. He uses it in the turkey brine.
- Unsalted butter – if using salted butter, you can omit the salt called for separately.
- Brown sugar – light or dark both work. In a pinch you can also use granulated sugar, just because we’ll add molasses as well in this recipe so it doesn’t make too much of a difference. Readers have also used muscovado as well.
- Molasses – use regular molasses, not blackstrap molasses. For those of you in the UK or Europe, I believe treacle is a good substitute even if not exactly the same.
- Egg
- Vanilla – always use pure vanilla extract.
- All purpose flour
- Spices – there are lots of spices in these candied ginger cookies: ginger, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg and cloves. The main spices are ginger and cinnamon, you just need a pinch of the other 3 spices. And if you don’t have one of the supporting spices, you may omit them. Or use a pinch of pumpkin pie spice or apple pie spice instead. The purpose is to layer the flavors to add complexity to these cookies
- Salt – I mostly use kosher salt. If you’re planning to use salted butter instead of unsalted, you can omit the salt.
- Baking soda & baking powder
- Sugar for topping – you can use raw cane sugar, turbinado, demerara or anything that will add a little bit of shine and crunch to the outside of these cookies.
How to make molasses ginger cookies with candied ginger
The following instructions, step-by-step photos, and tips are here to help you visualize how to make the recipe. You can always skip straight to the printable recipe card at the end of this post.
This cookie dough is extremely simple to make. Start by creaming soften butter with brown sugar. Then add the molasses, followed by egg and vanilla extract. Stir in the flour mixture until just combined.
Then add in the diced candied ginger. Always give it a last quick stir with a spatula to scrape down the side and bottom of the bowl and ensure everything is well mixed without overmixing the dough.
This dough is soft but should be pretty easy to handle. I use large cookie scoop (3-tablespoon size) to portion the dough. This batch will yield about 13 portions. Roll each portion into a ball, then roll the balls in raw sugar.
Tip: If the dough seems sticky, you can pop them in the fridge to chill for 10-15 minutes just so they are easier to handle.
Flatten the dough balls before baking, this will help them spread evenly and yield perfectly round cookies.
More baker’s tips
- Make them smaller – some readers found these cookies too large so you can use a smaller cookie scoop to make smaller size cookies. Just be sure to reduce baking time as well.
- You don’t need to chill the dough but resting it in the fridge for a short time does help make it less sticky and easier to roll as well as develop the flavor further.
- Modify for your elevation or oven temperature – a reader wrote in to say that her cookies came out dry at higher elevation. She suggested dropping the oven temperature and bake time by a minute. And if your oven temperature runs hot, you may want to reduce bake time or adjust the set temperature as well.
Storage
Store these ginger cookies with candied ginger in an airtight container at room temperature, they should last 3 to 5 days. A neat trick to keep them softer is to store a slice of sandwich bread with the cookies. You can place the bread off to the side or use a piece of parchment paper to separate it from the cookies so you don’t end of up with pieces of bread stuck to your delicious treats.
The dough also freezes really well, so you can have these cookies year round. First, freeze them in one layer until solid, then transfer to a freezer bag and store in your freezer for up to 6 months.
FAQs
No, this candied ginger cookie dough is very soft and will spread. It is more akin to a snickerdoodle cookie dough rather than a shortbread cookie dough so it is not suitable for rolling and cutting.
Gingerbread cookie dough is typically dryer, which can be rolled out, cut into different shapes; the cookies are then baked and even decorated for the holidays. While molasses ginger cookie dough is wetter, so it yields softer cookies that spread more, which is why it’s not suitable for cutting into different shapes.
I have not made another version of ginger molasses cookies with the cracks to compare but I think it is because my candied ginger cookie dough is wetter than the other versions you’ve seen.
More cookies you’ll love this holidays
- Chocolate Snickerdoodle Cookies
- Fig Jam and Walnut Rugelach
- Macadamia Snowball Cookies
- Brown Butter Melting Moments
- Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies
Hungry for more?
Ginger Molasses Cookies with Candied Ginger
Equipment
Ingredients
- ¼ cup diced candied ginger
- 4 oz unsalted butter, room temperature, 113 g
- ⅓ cup light brown sugar, 66 g
- ¼ cup molasses, 84 g
- 1 large egg
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cup all-purpose flour, 203 g
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- A pinch of ground allspice
- A pinch of ground nutmeg
- A pinch of ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ⅓ cup raw cane sugar or turbinado sugar for rolling
Instructions
- Dice the candied ginger (or crystallized ginger) into small pieces, measure out ¼ cup and set aside.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 or 3 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Cream soften butter and sugar in a mixing bowl with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy. Add molasses and beat to combine. Add egg and vanilla extract and beat until combined.
- Add flour, spices, salt, baking powder and baking soda to a small bowl and mix with a whisk to distribute evenly. With the mixer on the lowest speed, slowly add the flour mixture to the stand mixer bowl and mix until just combined.
- Stir in the chopped candied ginger set aside earlier. Use a spatula to scrape the side and bottom of the bowl to ensure everything is incorporated.
- Spread raw sugar on a shallow dish or plate. Use a large cookie scoops to divide the dough into 13 portions, about 1.5 oz each. Roll each portion of dough into balls, then roll the balls in raw sugar. Place them on the prepared baking sheets about 2 inches apart.
- Just before baking, use the bottom of a measuring cup to flatten the dough balls. Bake one baking sheet at a time for 12 minutes.
- Remove from the oven, let cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 – 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- This dough is soft but should be easy to handle. However, if you find it sticky, you can chill it in the fridge for 15 minutes or so before rolling it into ball. Chill it after you have portioned it out with a cookie scoop.
- Store at room temperature in an airtight container. They will last 3-5 days.
- The dough freezes well and will last 3-6 months.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Can’t get enough of these cookies. This is truly a fabulous recipe. I make these cookies every season not just for holidays. Thank you so much.
Thank you Julie! So glad to hear you’re enjoying these year round!!!
This is an awesome recipe! I make molasses ginger cookies often and particularly in the wintertime, during the holidays they make the whole house smell so good! Not sure if anyone has already stated this, but the dough freezes well so you can have this cookie anytime you crave it!
Excellent cookie! The bits of crystallized ginger are a real treat. I used dark muscovado sugar instead of light brown sugar. I would certainly make them again.
The flavor is great, mine came out a little dry. It’s likely my elevation – but I’ll drop the temp and the cook time by a minute the next time I make them.