It’s Day 6 of my 12 Days of Christmas Cookies Series! And, of course, our Christmas cookie box wouldn’t be complete without a ginger cookie. These high altitude soft ginger molasses cookies are one of my favorite holiday cookies to bake (and eat!). The spicy heat of the ginger is so good with the sweet molasses and hints of cinnamon and cloves.
And if you’ve never paired ginger with citrus, you don’t know what you’re missing! Ginger is especially good with lemon, so I made a tart lemon icing to fill the cookies, for the softest, most delectable ginger lemon sandwich cookies. This is a high altitude tested recipe for soft ginger molasses cookies, so high altitude bakers can be assured of a cookie that will bake up perfectly.
Looking for more recipes like this one? You’ll love these baked gingerbread doughnuts, cardamom cake with lemon curd, and gingerbread coffee cake with maple icing.
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Why You’ll Love These Cookies
Perfect for the Holidays. With spicy ginger, sweet molasses, cinnamon and cloves, these classic cookies are always the first to disappear at a holiday get together.
Soft and Chewy for Days. One of the best things about these cookies – besides the flavor – is how soft and chewy they are. When freshly baked, they have crisp edges and a chewy center. But by the next day, they’re so soft and completely irresistible.
Easy to Make. This is a really easy cookie recipe, and one that you simply can’t mess up!
Ingredients
Cookies
- Butter. Unsalted butter adds flavor and richness.
- Granulated Sugar. Sweetness, of course, and moisture. I also roll the dough balls in sugar before baking, for a beautiful sparkly finish.
- Egg. Binds the dough together, and adds a bit of leavening.
- Molasses. Molasses is a classic pairing with ginger. Be sure to use regular unsulphered molasses, such as Grandma’s Original Molasses. I don’t recommend Blackstrap molasses, which is much darker and more bitter. If you can only find Blackstrap, cut it with half light corn syrup to tone down the bitterness.
- Apple Cider Vinegar. The acid in the vinegar tenderizes the dough, keeping these soft ginger molasses cookies so soft and chewy.
- Vanilla. Flavor. I’ve been using Rodelle Pure Vanilla this winter, and it’s a delicious addition to my cookie recipes.
- Flour. The flour adds structure and strengthens the ginger cookie dough.
- Baking Soda. Reacts with the acid in the vinegar and molasses, leavening the dough and making the cookies rise.
- Spices. Ground ginger, of course. But also some cinnamon and cloves are delicious in these ginger cookies.
- Salt. A little coarse Kosher salt balances the sweetness and rounds out the flavors.
Lemon Icing
- Powdered Sugar. Sweetens and thickens the icing.
- Meringue Powder. A key ingredient in royal icing, the meringue powder stiffens the icing so it dries firm.
- Lemon. The juice and zest of 1 fresh lemon adds flavor and brightness to this sweet and tart icing.
Instructions
Cream the Butter and Sugar.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and 3/4 cup sugar on medium speed for about 4-5 minutes, until light and fluffy.
Mix in the Liquid Ingredients.
- Scrape the bowl down and mix in the egg, molasses, vinegar and vanilla. The mixture will look lumpy and curdled, but it will all smooth out when you add the dry ingredients.
Add the Dry Ingredients.
- In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, spices and salt. With the mixer on low, gradually add the dry ingredients, mixing just until combined.
Shape and Chill the Dough.
- Use a small cookie scoop with a release lever (or a tablespoon) to scoop 2 dozen cookie dough balls. Roll the balls smooth with your hands, then coat in the 1/4 cup granulated sugar.
- Place the dough balls 2 inches apart on a parchment lined baking sheet, and flatten them just slightly with the palm of your hand. Refrigerate for 2 hours.
Bake.
- Preheat the oven to 350. Bake the chilled cookies on the center oven rack for exactly 8 minutes.
- Cool the cookies on the pan for several minutes, then carefully transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Make the Lemon Icing.
- In a bowl, combine the powdered sugar and meringue powder. Add all of the lemon zest and 2 tablespoons of the freshly squeezed lemon juice. Use a fork to stir the icing together, just to incorporate all of the powdered sugar. If it seems too stiff, add a little more lemon juice.
- Use a hand-held electric mixer to beat the icing for 4-5 minutes, until smooth and fluffy. It should be a thick drizzling consistency that can be spooned onto the cookies without running over the edge. Adjust the amounts of powdered sugar and lemon juice to reach desired consistency.
Fill the Cookies.
- Turn half the cookies over, bottoms up, and match them up with an equally sized cookie for the top. Spoon the icing (about 1 1/2 teaspoons for each) onto the bottoms of the cookies, and spread it out towards the edges.
- Don’t be in a rush to add the top cookie, or it will squish the icing out and over the edges. You also don’t want to wait too long, and let the icing harden too much before adding the top cookie. Wait for about 2 – 2 1/2 minutes, then place the top cookie over the icing, pressing down gently. Let firm up completely before storing the cookies.
Icing Variations
- Vanilla. For a vanilla icing, omit the lemon juice and zest. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and 1 1/2 – 2 tablespoons milk.
- Maple. For a maple icing, make the vanilla icing and add 1/2 teaspoon maple extract.
- Buttercream. Instead of the lemon icing, try a soft and fluffy buttercream! Read all about my favorite buttercream recipe in this comprehensive post.
Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common baking questions, so that you can be successful in your own baking!
Frequently Asked Questions
Can these cookies be frozen?
Yes, they absolutely can. You can make and freeze just the dough, or bake the soft ginger molasses cookies and freeze them on their own, or sandwiched with the lemon icing. When you thaw out the cookies, they’ll be just as soft and chewy as they were freshly baked!
Would Blackstrap molasses work?
It’ll work, but the flavor is very intense and strong, too strong for baking, in my opinion. Use “old fashioned” molasses for the best flavor.
Why is there apple cider vinegar in the cookies?
The acid in the apple cider vinegar tenderizes the dough, making these ginger molasses cookies so soft and chewy.
What does the meringue powder do in the icing?
The meringue powder helps the icing set and firm up, sort of like a soft royal icing. You can try making the icing without it, but it will probably be too runny.
You Might Also Like
Orange Ginger Shortbread Cookies 
Baked Gingerbread Doughnuts 
Homemade Hot Chocolate Mix 
Gingerbread Coffee Cake
Favorite Products
Did you love today’s recipe? Please rate the recipe and let me know in the comments what you thought! Also, be sure to follow Curly Girl Kitchen on Instagram, and tag me when you try one of my recipes so I can see all your delicious creations!
High Altitude Soft Ginger Molasses Cookies
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet.
Equipment
- Stand Mixer
Ingredients
Cookies
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup molasses (not Blackstrap)
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- ¾ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
- ⅛ tsp ground cloves
- ½ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- ¼ cup granulated sugar, for rolling the cookie dough balls
Icing
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- ½ tbsp meringue powder
- 1 large lemon, zested and juiced
Instructions
Cookies
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and 3/4 cup sugar on medium speed for about 4-5 minutes, until light and fluffy.
- Scrape the bowl down and mix in the egg, molasses, vinegar and vanilla. The mixture will look lumpy and curdled, but it will all smooth out when you add the dry ingredients.
- In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, spices and salt. With the mixer on low, gradually add the dry ingredients, mixing just until combined.
- Use a small cookie scoop with a release lever (or a tablespoon) to scoop 2 dozen cookie dough balls. Roll the balls smooth with your hands, then coat in the 1/4 cup granulated sugar.
- Place the dough balls 2 inches apart on a parchment lined baking sheet, and flatten them just slightly with the palm of your hand. Refrigerate for 2 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 350. Bake the chilled cookies on the center oven rack for exactly 8 minutes.
- Cool the cookies on the pan for several minutes, then carefully transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Icing
- In a bowl, combine the powdered sugar and meringue powder. Add all of the lemon zest and 2 tablespoons of the freshly squeezed lemon juice.
- Use a fork to stir the icing together, just to incorporate all of the powdered sugar. If it seems too stiff, add a little more lemon juice.
- Use a hand-held electric mixer to beat the icing for 4-5 minutes, until smooth and fluffy. It should be a thick drizzling consistency that can be spooned onto the cookies without running over the edge. Adjust the amounts of powdered sugar and lemon juice to reach desired consistency.
- Turn half the cookies over, bottoms up, and match them up with an equally sized cookie for the top. Spoon the icing (about 1 1/2 teaspoons for each) onto the bottoms of the cookies, and spread it out towards the edges. Don't be in a rush to add the top cookie, or it will squish the icing out and over the edges. You also don't want to wait too long, and let the icing harden too much before adding the top cookie. Wait for about 2 – 2 1/2 minutes, then place the top cookie over the icing, pressing down gently. Let firm up completely before storing the cookies.
hi! I want to make this for my christmas cookie box and I was wondering if I could use cream of tartar instead of meringue powder? I can’t find meringue powder here, thank you!
Cream of tartar can be used to stabilize things, but it’s not really interchangeable with meringue powder in this icing recipe. If you try it, though, please let me know how it works. You wouldn’t want to use as much cream of tartar, maybe just 1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon, but that’s just a guess since I haven’t tested it. Your icing may not set up quite the same as with the meringue powder. Have you shopped for it on Amazon? I can always find it on there, or at my local Hobby Lobby, Michaels or Joanne’s.
Greetings from New Mexico! I’m excited to try out this recipe, amongst several others on your site !!
I also live at high altitude. I’m at 5,476 ft. Here in NE Albuquerque!
You’ll love these cookies! 🙂