Ginger molasses cookies

Ginger molasses cookies

A soft centered ginger molasses cookie with a hint of orange


Ginger molasses cookies. You may recall us telling you that growing up we didn’t know what gingerbread cookies were. Ginger, in any form, was not an ingredient used in our childhood Greek kitchen. When one of us was a teenager, rebelling against traditional Greek cuisine (what were we thinking?!), we purchased the Better Homes and Gardens Cookies for Christmas Cookbook. We still have that book and its stained, dog-eared and kind of smelly pages are a testament to just how much we use it when holiday baking season arrives. In that book we discovered a whole new world of cookie goodness that went well beyond melomakarona, kourabiethes and koulourakia . In that book we were introduced to florentines, and shortbread, and gingerbread men, gingerbread houses, and gingersnaps. Ginger became a new fascination, and obsession.

Every Christmas season since the purchase of that book our holiday baking includes gingerbread people and a plan to make a magical, grandiose and impressive gingerbread house using the recipe found in this cookbook. The cookie people get decorated in a variety of ways (you can be sure that this year our sweet little men and women will be wearing face masks!) and the gingerbread house…well, it never actually gets done. Like ever. (Note: the box kits with premade cookie house cutouts and icing in a bag don’t count folks!). We have never, in all these years, built a gingerbread house. Oh, we plan it! We are extraordinary confectionary architects…in our minds. But perhaps because the expectations for our gingerbread houses are always so impossible elaborate, we get overwhelmed and choose to forgo the project instead. Back to making gingerbread people.

Ginger molasses cookies

But even gingerbread cutouts have their challenges. The recipe we use is perfect; the cookies are soft and firm all at once, and it is a pretty easy dough to work with. And the taste, so good! But, these cookies require some planning (the dough needs to chill in the fridge for at least 3 hours) and although piping on hair and buttons is fun, it is time consuming. Sometimes we want the gingerbread flavour without all the fuss. And that dear friends brings us, finally, to this recipe. Ginger molasses cookies with a touch of orange.

We think that our recipe will delight you. Your cookie batter will come together in just a few minutes, there will be no rolling and cutting out of shapes, and your entire home will smell like Christmas. With the delicious odour permeating the air, others may wonder if you aren’t perhaps, finally, after all these years, baking a gingerbread house. You can tell them that project is still in the works (it’s actually never going to happen) but in the meanwhile they can enjoy the flavour of ginger and molasses in these soft-centered cookies, perfect for dunking into a tall glass of milk or a Greek coffee.

Pin this recipe if you like it!


Ginger molasses cookies

Helpful hints

What is molasses, and what kind should I use in these ginger molasses cookies?

Molasses, like ginger, was not an ingredient we grew up with. Too bad – because it is delicious! Molasses is a thick dark syrup which is a by-product of making sugar. Molasses can be either sulphured or unsulphured (the latter is usually what you will find in the grocery store), light or dark (the darker the molasses, the stronger the flavour) and then there is a thing called blackstrap molasses – which should not be used in baking because the flavour is just too intense.

For these cookies we used unsulphured Fancy molasses (may also be called Gold Star molasses). Fancy molasses is the highest grade of molasses available, and these cookies sure are worth it!

This isn’t the first recipe we’ve shared with molasses by the way. Check out our upside down apricot and molasses cake. Yum!

Molasses is so sticky! What is the best way to measure it out?

Whenever we work with honey or molasses we like to lightly grease the measuring cup or spoon that we will be using to measure out the ingredient. A light coating of oil allows the molasses or honey to slip easily out of the measuring instrument into your bowl, with none of the goodness left behind.

What is demerara sugar?

Essentially, this is just large grain brown sugar which naturally contains a little bit of molasses, giving it a nice caramel flavour. In this recipe it is a fancy little extra, and we sprinkle a bit of it on top of the unbaked cookies for an added bit of sweetness and crunch. If you don’t have it, or prefer not to use it, don’t worry. Your cookies will be delicious even without it.


Looking for more non-Greek cookies and desserts? How about these:

Vegan chocolate and strawberry cookies

Oatmeal and chocolate chunk ice cream sandwiches

Lemon bars

Things you might need:

Fancy molasses

Demerara sugar

Parchment paper

We love hearing from you!  If you have made our recipes, or if you have a question or comment, or simply want to say Hi!,  please leave a comment below!

Ginger molasses cookies
Ginger molasses cookies
Ginger molasses cookies

Ginger molasses cookies

A soft ginger molasses cookies with a hint of orange.
5 from 14 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 40 cookies
Author: Mia Kouppa

Equipment

  • Stand mixer
  • Parchment paper
  • Baking tray

Ingredients

  • 2 1/4 cups (337 grams) all - purpose flour
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tbsp ground ginger
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 3/4 cup (180 grams) butter, unsalted softened
  • 3/4 cup (150 grams) brown sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 tbsp grated orange zest
  • 1/3 cup (87 grams) fancy molasses
  • 1 tbsp demerara sugar optional

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
  • In a medium sized mixing bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg. Set aside.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment combine the butter and brown sugar. Beat until well combined.
  • Add the egg and beat until well combined and then mix in the orange zest and the molasses.
  • With the mixer set to low speed, slowly add in the flour mixture. Beat until just well combined.
  • For each cookie, drop one tablespoon of dough onto the parchment lined cookie sheet, leaving at least one inch between cookies.
  • Sprinkle each cookie with a bit of demerara sugar if desired.
  • Bake in the middle rack of your oven for 10 minutes.
  • Remove from oven and allow to cook for 5 minutes before transferring to a cookie rack to cool completely.
  • Enjoy!

Thanks for sharing!

14 Comments

  1. Is this the same as moustokouloura!?

    1. miakouppa says:

      No they are not, although they do have a similar texture (and even flavour). Moustokouloura (a recipe we have not yet posted) has Grape must (Petimezi) as a key ingredient; this is sometimes called grape molasses – but it is not the same as the molasses we use here. In this recipe for ginger molasses cookies the molasses is a by-product of sugar production. Petimezi on the other hand is the juice of grapes which has been condensed to a sweet syrup. Hope that helps! xoxo Helen & Billie

  2. Martie Henry says:

    Wanted to try your recipe but is it baking powder or baking soda that is used in your recipe?

    1. miakouppa says:

      Hi Martie. Just baking soda. (there was an error in the original recipe and we are so sorry for the inconvenience) Hope that you love these cookies as much as we do 🙂 xoxo Helen & Billie

  3. Christy Fitzgerald says:

    Where does the 3 hours in the fridge come in?

    1. miakouppa says:

      Hi Christy, There is no 3 hours of refrigeration for the dough of these ginger molasses cookies – that’s part of what makes them so easy 🙂 (In the post, the reference to the 3 hour refrigeration is related to the gingerbread cutouts we make from our Better Homes and Gardens Christmas Cookie Cookbook).

  4. Mine are flatter than a pancake

    1. miakouppa says:

      Hi Patty! Did you use our recipe? If you did we wonder if perhaps you flattened them before baking? Or maybe the baking powder was not fresh? Let us know!

      1. I made these cookies and absolutely delicious and so fast …THANKYOU

      2. miakouppa says:

        Amazing Irma!! Thank you for letting us know that you enjoyed the recipe 🙂 So, so, so happy that you loved them!

  5. Danuta Goreczny says:

    Can you double the amount of ginger to make the flavour more intense?

    1. miakouppa says:

      Hi Danuta! You can certainly try. It won’t do anything to the texture of the cookies so adjust the aromatics to your liking. Happy baking.

  6. Your recipe calls for Baking Powder, but instructions say to use Baking Soda.

    1. miakouppa says:

      Good grief!! Thanks for pointing that out Angela. It is an error in the list of ingredients – the recipe calls for Baking Soda. We have corrected it (thank you for pointing it out!!). So sorry about that confusion!

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