Soft Ginger Cookies

These classic cookies are soft and a little chewy, and just bursting with warm ginger spice!  A perfect recipe for your Christmas cookie exchange.  

As picky as my kids can be about the foods they eat, every now and then they surprise me.  My little guy refuses to eat pasta (???), but somehow in his mind spicy gingerbread and ginger cookies are A-ok.

Not just A-ok, but really, one of his top faves.  So, after I attended the Better Homes and Gardens Stylemaker event earlier this fall, where I tried a fabulously flavorful soft ginger cookie, I just knew a recipe like this had to happen in my home kitchen.

Happily, BH&G ended up inviting me, soon after, to participate in the World’s Largest Cookie Exchange!  They’re providing us all with the cute gift tags you see pictured (click here to download), and there are tons more cookie recipes to come, from all the other fabulous contributors.  Just keep your eyes peeled over the next several weeks, and look for the hashtag #BHGCookieExchange.

Better Homes and Gardens also has a special interest magazine out right now, called 100 Best Cookies.  It must have been fate all along, because one of the very last recipes in the book was for a ginger cookie similar to the one I had tried and fallen in love with.

It only took a few minor tweaks to their classic recipe to bring the ginger flavor even more assertively forward, and to add a butter-y richness that keeps you reaching back into the jar for more!

I don’t usually have too much trouble getting crystallized ginger at the regular supermarket at this time of year.  I find it in the produce department.  It’s basically just slices of fresh ginger that have been boiled in a sugar syrup, lightly dried, and coated in granulated sugar.  They have the texture of a raisin or gumdrop, and the flavor is on another level.  Don’t leave it out!  It makes the whole recipe 😉  If you have any trouble finding it, here’s a link to have it sent to you.  I’m also including a few other links for some of my favorite cookie-making tools:

This post contains affiliate sales links.

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Soft Ginger Cookies

Prep Time

15 mins

Cook Time

10 mins

Total Time

25 mins

 

These classic cookies are soft and a little chewy, and just bursting with warm ginger spice! A perfect recipe for your Christmas cookie exchange.

Course: Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Cookies, ginger, soft

Servings: 32 cookies (approx.)

Calories: 98 kcal

Ingredients

• 3/4 cups unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons crystallized candied ginger, finely minced
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
• white sparkling sugar, for garnish

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, and line three baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. Place the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl, and cream together until pale and fluffy (about 3 minutes).  

3. Add the eggs and molasses, mixing until combined. 

4. Add the flour, crystallized (candied) ginger, ground ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt, and mix until combined. 

5. Scoop dough into 1-inch balls, and roll to coat in white sparkling sugar. 

6. Place 1 1/2-inches apart on prepared baking sheets, and bake for 8-9 minutes, or until bottoms are light brown and tops are puffed (do not overbake).

7. Cool on cookie sheet 1 minute.  Transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Nutrition Facts

Soft Ginger Cookies

Amount Per Serving

Calories 98 Calories from Fat 36

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 4g 6%

Saturated Fat 2g 10%

Cholesterol 16mg 5%

Sodium 47mg 2%

Potassium 52mg 1%

Total Carbohydrates 13g 4%

Sugars 6g

Protein 1g 2%

Vitamin A 2.8%

Calcium 1%

Iron 3.3%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.