Chewy Gingery Molasses Morsels

Of all the holiday cookies I have made over the years, these babies...these are the most specialist ones. The combo of their sugary crackley tops, the soft and chewy texture, and how they are oh so perfectly spiced with that distinct bite of blackstrap molasses. Mouth party is an understatement. This is the recipe I get asked for every year by almost everyone who tries them. These are the ones that never last long enough to make it to the cookie swap. These are just the ones. Don't hesitate - just make the extra batch and thank me later.

Pro-tips:

• Similar recipes will say that black strap molasses in too intense for these, but I prefer it. It adds a depth of flavor that you just can't achieve without it.

• I prefer rolling them in granulated sugar over raw or turbinado sugar. Sure the latter will hold up better in the oven and add some crunch to their “shell", but granulated sugar makes them sparkle, and sparkles just make me happy. But if that crunchy crust is what you are after, then def go for a more coarse sugar.

• Baked cookies will stay soft at room temp for up to a week (if they last that long lol) or you can freeze them for up to 3 months.

• Unbaked cookie dough can chill in the fridge for 2-3 days, or you can freeze unbaked cookie dough balls for up to 3 months.

• If you do plan to store unbaked dough, I recommend swaddling it in plastic wrap to prevent any of that precious moisture from escaping.

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp ground ginger

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup unsalted butter

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup molasses

1 large egg

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/3 cup granulated or coarse sugar, for rolling

Instructions

Prep time 15 min

Cooking time 11-12 min

Total time 2 hours

Yield approx 30 cookies

1. Preheat oven to 350°F

2. Whisk or sift the "dry" ingredients together - flour, baking soda, spices, salt.

3. Combine the "wet" ingredients- first mix the butter and sugars, then add the molasses and vanilla, then add the egg.

4. Mix the wet and dry ingredients together. The dough will be sticky and pretty dense. If you have a hand or stand mixer highly recommend you use it, unless you have killer bi's and tri's, then knock yourself out and mix it up by hand.

5. Cover and chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour. If you leave it in the fridge 2hrs be sure to let it sit at room temp for about 30min. If they are tooooo cold they won’t spread out and crack on top as nicely as we want them to.

6. Roll cookie dough into balls. Use about 1 tbsp of dough per cookie.

7. Generously roll each cookie dough ball in granulated sugar.

8. Arrange 3" apart on a baking sheet.

9. Bake at 350°F for 11-12min. They should puff up and crack on top, if they don’t, give your pan a few whacks on the counter top, then pop them back in the oven for like 1 minute.