Chewy Ginger Cookies

These cookies taste and smell like Christmas!  I don’t love crunchy cookies, so I set out to make a soft and chewy gingerbread cookie.  These have the taditional flavors of ground ginger, molasses, and cinnamon, but the real star is the crystallized ginger.  They stayed puffy and chewy and were perfect for my Christmas party!

Here are your ingredients…let’s bake!

I used a stand mixer with the paddle attachment.  Feel free to use a handheld mixer.  Start by creaming your butter and sugars.

Add the egg, molasses, and vanilla.  Mix until combined.

Mix in the baking soda, cinnamon, ground ginger, cloves, and salt.

Add the flour and mix until it is well combined.

Now for my favorite part…the crystallized ginger!  Isn’t it pretty?!

Chop it up and add it to your dough.  Mix until combined.

Take your dough and chill it for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Put your sugar into a little bowl.  I use this white sparkling sugar because the crystals are larger, it gives a nice crunch, and it’s pretty.  Feel free to use regular granulated sugar.

Once your dough is chilled, use a ice cream/cookie scoop to form dough balls.

Rolling each ball in the sparkling sugar.

Bake for 7-8 minutes.

Allow to cook on the pan for 5 minutes.  Then transfer to a cooling rack.

I had to sample one while they were still warm…SO GOOD!!

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 sticks butter, softened
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup molasses
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup crystalized ginger; chopped
Sparkling or granulated sugar, for rolling

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350°.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add in the molasses, egg, and vanilla and mix until well-combined.
Add in the baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves,and salt, and mix until just combined. Add in the flour and mix until well-combined, scraping the sides as needed.
Mix in the chopped ginger until combined.
Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes. Then roll the dough into 1-inch balls, and roll each dough ball in sparkling or granulated sugar. Place on an ungreased baking sheet, spacing them 2-inches apart.
Bake in preheated oven for 7-8 minutes, or until the cookies just begin to crack and crinkle, and the edges barely start to brown. Do not overbake or they won’t be chewy!
Let cookies cool for 5 minutes on the cookie sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

#choosejoy

Recipe adapted from Back To Her Roots