High Altitude Soft and Chewy Ginger Molasses Cookies

These high altitude soft and chewy ginger molasses cookies are one of my favorite holiday cookies to bake. The spicy heat of the ginger is so delicious with the sweet molasses and hints of cinnamon and cloves, and the crackled cookie tops look just beautiful.

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

High Altitude Tested. This is a high altitude tested recipe (at 5,280 feet) for soft ginger molasses cookies, so high altitude bakers can be assured of a cookie that will bake up perfectly.

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. And these cookies freeze well, so if you want to get your Christmas cookie baking done ahead of time, you can freeze a batch of these until you’re ready to assemble your Christmas cookie boxes.

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, these chewy molasses cookies have crisp edges and a soft, chewy center. But by the next day, they’re so soft throughout and completely irresistible.

Easy to Make. This is a really easy cookie recipe, and one that you simply can’t mess up! If you follow the instructions, you’ll be rewarded with the best crackly ginger molasses cookies you’ve ever tasted.

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.

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 medium cookie scoop with a release lever 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.

TIP: After taking the pan out of the oven, use a round cookie cutter or biscuit cutter (one with a larger circumference than the cookies) and immediately “scoot” it around the hot cookies. Cookie scooting pulls in any uneven edges, and makes cookies perfectly round and really beautiful.

Recipe Variation: Lemon Icing

Ginger and molasses are wonderful paired with tart lemon, and these ginger cookies are fantastic with lemon icing. You can spoon the icing on top of the cookies and decorate them with fresh lemon zest, or sandwich it in between two cookies.

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
• ½ tbsp meringue powder
• 1 large lemon, zested and juiced

Instructions

• 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.

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. (In the next photo, I frosted the cookies with buttercream, and sprinkled candied ginger and vanilla bean powder on top.)

Recipe Variation: Cheesecake Stuffed Ginger Molasses Cookies

You can fill these cookies with sweetened cream cheese to make cheesecake gingerbread cookies. The spicy cookies with the creamy filling is simply delicious.

Cheesecake Filling Ingredients

• 8 oz block cream cheese, cold
• 4 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

• In a bowl, combine the cold cream cheese, sugar and vanilla, until smooth and creamy. Dollop the cream cheese mixture onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, making 2 dozen dollops, each about 2 tsp each. Place the pan in the freezer while you make the cookie dough.

• Use a medium cookie scoop with a release lever to scoop 2 dozen cookie dough balls. Gently flatten each ball between your hands. Since the dough is pretty sticky, you may find it helpful to flour your hands while you do this, to keep the dough from sticking.
• Place the frozen cheesecake dollops on the flattened dough, then wrap the dough around the cheesecake, making sure it’s fully enclosed in cookie dough.
• Follow the recipe as instructed, for coating the dough balls in sugar and chilling them for 2 hours.
• Only bake 6 cookies at a time, and bake for about 9-10 minutes.
• Cool completely, and store the cheesecake filled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Recipe Variation: Raisin Molasses Gems

Soft raisin molasses cookies, or raisin molasses gems, have always been my dad’s favorite cookie, so my mom makes them every Christmas. So that the raisins don’t pull any moisture from your cookies, hydrate them first in water.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup raisins
• water

Instructions

• In a saucepan, cover the raisins with water. Bring just to a simmer over medium heat, then remove from the heat. Let the raisins soak for several minutes until plump, then drain and discard the water and set the raisins aside.
• Make the cookie dough as instructed, adding the raisins when you add the egg, molasses, vinegar and vanilla.

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.

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