Chewy Ginger Bread Cookies
The warmest, spiciest hug for your nose & stomach
These ginger bread cookies will spice up your life. Filled with generous amounts of cinnamon, ginger and cloves, your house will instantly smell like fall! Just the simple addition of molasses gives them that chewy and rich texture that we all love.
Ingredients:
1 Cup Salted Butter (2 sticks)
1 & 1/2 Cup White Granulated Sugar
1 Egg
1/2 Cup Molasses
3 & 1/4 Cup All Purpose Flour
1 TSP. Baking Powder
1 & 1/2 TSP. Baking Soda
1 & 1/4 TSP. Ground Cinnamon
3 TSP. Ground Ginger
1 TSP. Ground Cloves
1/2 TSP. Salt
1/2 Cup White Granulated Sugar for rolling dough balls
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 Degrees Fahrenheit.
Prepare wet ingredients in an electric mixer or large mixing bowl— Combine butter, egg, and 1 & 1/2 Cup Sugar until creamy. Then add molasses, and mix until well combined.
In a separate bowl (medium sized), prepare dry ingredients— Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, ground cloves, and salt. Mix with a whisk or fork until well combined.
Slowly incorporate dry ingredients into the wet. Mix until well combined.
On a plate or tray, prepare sugar to roll each ball of dough in— evenly spread out 1/2 Cup Sugar. Create 2 inch balls by hand or with an ice cream scoop. Roll in the palm of your hand to form the dough evenly, and then roll in sugar to coat dough balls completely.
Place tray on middle rack of oven and bake for 9 minutes. The tops and edges of your cookies should look like they are just beginning to golden.
Remove from oven and let sit for 2-3 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
Enjoy!
Helpful Notes:
Leave your butter out of the fridge for about an hour or two before baking. It is important that it is softened & ready to cream together with the sugars, eggs and vanilla. If you are forgetful (like myself) you can microwave your butter vertically for 5-10 second intervals. Do watch it closely to prevent it from totally melting in the microwave.
Slowly incorporating your dry ingredients into the wet not only helps prevent a mess, but ensures that the flour mixture is incorporated evenly throughout the batter without overmixing. I like to add about one cup of my dry ingredients at a time on a low to medium setting.
I find that baking one sheet of cookies at a time on the middle rack best ensures that my cookies bake through evenly & without scorched bottoms. This depends entirely on the performance of your oven— get to know your oven and what positions work best for trays and pans. This can make all the difference in the way that your baked items cook through.