Ginger Cookies

What Ginger Cookies Are Made Of

If you want to make ginger cookies, you will need the following ingredients:

• butter, preferably unsalted butter because you will add salt to the dough, but if you have salted it, it will work. Just adjust the salt in the recipe accordingly otherwise, your cookies may be too salty
• sugar, both granulated brown sugar work here and we are using both to add texture and a little molasses flavour. Brown sugar may also lead to a slightly thicker cookie that is softer
• molasses, specifically Fancy molasses or baking molasses. Do not use blackstrap molasses, which is too bitter for this recipe
• large egg, don't use smaller eggs because your cookie dough may be too dry and your cookies won't spread enough but don't use extra large eggs because they could cause the cookie dough to puff too much as it bakes, leading to a more cakey cookie
• all-purpose flour is needed to bind all the ingredients together and give the cookies structure, contributing to the chewiness of the cookies as well. If you don't use enough flour, your cookies may spread too much as they bake
• baking soda is a base (alkaline) and contributes to that signature cracked finish that we expect of the best ginger cookies. You need baking soda for the cookies to spread properly and to crack. Do not use baking powder. Read up on baking soda vs baking powder if you are unsure
• ground ginger and cinnamon are added to the dough to make these cookies very flavourful
• salt is really important to balance out the sweet molasses flavour. Please don't skip it. I like to use Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt, but table salt will work, though the cookies will be saltier and you may want to halve the salt in that case
• crystallized ginger is the secret to the best ginger cookies because they add a ton of potent ginger flavour to really bring it up a notch.

See recipe card for exact quantities and details.

Substitutions and Variations

• Ginger: To make cookies with the boldest ginger flavour, we are incorporating ground and crystallized ginger in this recipe. Dried ginger gives the dough a mild flavour, while chopped crystallized ginger adds pops of intense ginger flavour. Try it and you'll be amazed at how great the flavour is when you combine both types of ginger. Don't use fresh ginger! It's not the same.
• Molasses: In this recipe, we are baking with Fancy molasses (which you can find on Amazon), which is sometimes called baking molasses or original molasses in the US (available on Amazon). Mild molasses also works. Another option worth exploring would be black Treacle, which I used in these soft gingerbread cookies. Lyle's Black Treacle is very popular in Great Britain and it's used to bake instead of molasses. You can also order it on Amazon.

Do not use blackstrap molasses. Blackstrap molasses is very dark and has a more bitter taste, whereas Fancy molasses has a milder taste that is more suited for Christmas cookies.

Hint: If you've never seen crystallized ginger in your grocery store, you may find it at bulk stores or scoop shops. It's sold sliced or already cubed. You can also order it from Amazon.

Step 1: Combine the butter, sugars, and molasses in your mixer bowl (image 1) and cream them together until fluffy before adding the egg (image 2). Mix the ingredients well until smooth and light (image 3).

Step 2: In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (image 4), then add them to your mixer bowl (image 5) and mix the dough until thick and the flour has mostly disappeared. Stir in the chopped crystallized ginger (image 6).

Step 3: Portion out the dough into even scoops using a ¾ ounce disher. You may chill the scooped cookie dough for 30 minutes to 1 hour until firm before rolling in granulated sugar (image 7).

Step 4: Place the sugar-coated ginger cookie dough balls on a half sheet pan, spacing them out, approximately 8 scoops per sheet to allow for air flow (image 8). Bake until the edges are set and beginning to brown slightly (image 9).