These triple ginger molasses cookies are deliciously chewy and bursting with the flavors of molasses, ground ginger, grated fresh ginger, and crystallized ginger along with other warming spices. They're easy and come together quickly. They're wonderful enjoyed with a hot cup of tea or coffee. They also store well and aren't particularly fragile, so they're great to make ahead, send in the mail, or bring on your holiday travels.
If a cookie could be considered cozy, this would fit the definition. It's the type of cookie I imagine you'd eat after coming in from the cold, stomping your boots and shaking out your snow covered scarf. A curl-up-in-front-of-the-fireplace cookie, plate balanced on your lap while steam curls from the hot drink cupped in your hand.
It's the traditional kind of cookie that can't help but remind you of times gone by and generations past. How many grandmothers warmed the hearts and bellies of those dear to them with cookies similar to these?
If you follow the triple ginger cookie recipe as written below, you'll end up with deliciously golden brown cookies that are still moist and slowly bend rather than snap. If you prefer a crisper, crunchier cookie, you can always increase baking time by a minute or two. That said, these aren't gingersnaps. They're meant to have a more pliable texture.
I've also adapted this recipe to make a chewy, moist chocolate gingerbread cookie that captures all of the spice and adds rich chocolate flavor to the dough along with gooey pools of melted dark chocolate.
For even more more ginger and spice packed recipes, consider this creamy gingerbread cheesecake, spiced German bars, pumpkin cheesecake cookies, or these mini apple ginger cakes with salted caramel sauce.
Find all of my cookie recipes here.
Is there a difference between crystallized and candied ginger?
The two term are often used interchangeably, and refer to ginger that has been peeled, coarsely chopped, boiled in a sugar syrup, then rolled in granulated sugar and let dry. Just don't use candied ginger that is still stored wet in a sugar syrup; it would add too much liquid to the recipe. If you want to go all out and make your own candied ginger, David Lebovitz has a tutorial here.
What type of molasses should I use?
For these fresh ginger molasses cookies, I used unsulphered dark molasses (affiliate link), which is traditionally used for gingerbread and ginger cookies. If you can't find dark molasses, you can try substituting light molasses, but it is sweeter, less flavorful and slightly runnier in texture. I don't recommend using blackstrap molasses. It's thicker, saltier, and significantly more bitter than dark molasses. It will have an unsatisfactory effect on your cookies due in part to a lower moisture content. For more, read Stella Parks' detailed article - including visuals - on the differences between molasses types and why blackstrap molasses isn't a good substitute for dark molasses in most baking.
Recipe Notes
APPEARANCE AND BAKING TIME - The cookies will look puffy and slightly underdone when removed from the oven at the 13 minute mark. Within a minute out of the oven, they will deflate a bit and begin to firm up, taking on their traditional crackly texture. Don't wait for this visual cue while they're still in the oven.
COOLING THE COOKIES PROMPTLY - Transfer cookies to a cooling rack as soon as they are firm enough to be moved without damage - around the 1+ minute mark. If you leave them on the pan, they will continue to cook and risk becoming less chewy and moist.
NEARLY PERFECT CIRCLES - It gives me great satisfaction to have (nearly) perfectly round cookies. The first step: use a cookie scoop. My go-to is this medium sized, 1 ½ tablespoon scoop from Oxo (affiliate link). The second trick, which I learned from Erin of Cloudy Kitchen: After cookies have rested for 1 minute out of the oven, but are still warm and pliable, place a slightly larger round cookie cutter (or the rim of a round drinking glass) around the cookie and gently push/wiggle it around to encourage any wayward edges back into a circle shape. I use this concentric set of round cookie cutters (affiliate link) so that I always have the perfect size on hand.
HARDY COOKIES - Does anyone still send cookies through the mail? If shipping a care package of cookies is still a thing, I think these triple ginger molasses cookies would be particularly good candidates for the job. They do not break easily, can be left out for days without going stale, and are flat enough to fit into a zipper sealed storage bag or container with ease. Do make sure to provide enough padding that they won't jostle around.
Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-star ★★★★★ rating in the recipe card below, and scroll down to leave a review. Your comments, suggestions and adaptations are very helpful to other bakers. Thank you for visiting!
📖 Recipe
Triple Ginger Molasses Cookies
Print Recipe Pin RecipeINGREDIENTS
- ½ cup (113g, 4 oz) butter, room temperature
- ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (100g) brown sugar, packed
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- ½ cup (85g) molasses
- 2 ½ teaspoon fresh ginger, finely grated
- 1 ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 cups (240g) all purpose flour
- ½ cup (120g) crystallized ginger, finely diced (optional, but delicious)
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar, for rolling
INSTRUCTIONS
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar on medium-low speed until blended. Increase speed to medium and continue mixing until light and fluffy, 3-4 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl with a spatula. Add egg and mix until fully incorporated.
- Add molasses and mix until blended. Add fresh ginger, ground spices, baking soda and salt, and mix on low speed until completely blended in. Scrape down sides of bowl with spatula. Add the flour and mix on low speed just until a few streaks of flour remain.
- Remove mixing bowl from stand mixer and add crystallized ginger (if using). Use your spatula to fold in the last bits of flour and to distribute the crystallized ginger throughout the dough. Do not overmix.
- Using a cookie scoop or a spoon, scoop the dough into 1 ½ Tablespoon balls (approximately the size of a standard sized store-bought marshmallow) and place dough in tight rows onto a parchment covered baking sheet. Place dough balls in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to firm up, but preferably overnight (cover with a cloth or with plastic wrap to keep from drying out).
- Directly prior to baking, position oven rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F (177°C, Gas Mark 4). Place a piece of parchment on a standard half sheet baking pan. Roll the dough balls in granulated sugar, covering thoroughly. Store sugar-coated dough balls in fridge until ready to bake to keep dough chilled. Evenly space 8 balls of sugar-covered dough onto the parchment lined sheet. (I do two rows of 3, plus 2 in the center).
- Bake each sheet for 13 minutes. This will result in a cookie that is chewy, still moist, and slowly bends rather than snaps. If you prefer a crisper, crunchier cookie, increase baking time by a minute or two. Remove from oven and let cool on pan for one minute.
- After one minute, carefully transfer cookies to a cooling rack. Cookies last over a week in an airtight container on the counter (we ate them all in that time; I'm sure they'd last longer) or for months sealed well and placed in the freezer.
The Floured Table
Recipe Author: Kathleen Culver
If you liked these triple ginger and molasses cookies, you might also enjoy these recipes!
nanotopia
So good!! I added extra fresh ginger and black pepper! YUM!
Kathleen Culver
Thanks so much.
Black pepper would be a great addition for extra kick!
Kathleen
Claudia Lacoskie
Absolutely loved this. Only alteration was I added double the cinnamon, as we are cinnamon freaks. The cookies were picture perfect. Crisp on the outside. Lovely and chewy inside. Not overly sweet. Almost savory. Perfect for tea or a nice glass of milk.
I used my homegrown ginger which was awesome. Will be making for Thanksgiving and possibly adding to our cookie trays.
Katlyn
WARNING do not double the recipe by using the ×2 button and using the grams listed they do not adjust 2x and you will ruin your cookies. Thankfully i noticed 1 cup of sugar is not 100g and 1 cup of molasses is not 85 g before I was finnished with the dough and adjusted the amount of sugar and molasses but almost screwed everything up. I would have been so devastated. Ingredients are not cheap. still giving 5 stars because I love cookies and if I had screwed up the double batch it would have ultimately been my fault.
Kathleen Culver
Katlyn,
Thank you so much for the note.
My recipe cards now have the ability to adjust the recipe quantities when hitting the double or triple button.
I've updated this recipe to make sure that all the amounts adjust appropriately.
I'm so glad you caught it with your own batch - I totally agree about expensive ingredients!
Hope you enjoyed them all!
Kathleen
Robert Tudisco
I made this cookie. They were delicious and exactly what I was looking for, with one exception. They flattened and spread way too much. I tried many things to prevent it. I froze them and cooked at a higher temp to get the edges to set quicker, but nothing worked. They were delicious, but I needed them to spread less and be a bit thinker. I am thinking it had to do with the amount of molasses. Do you have any thoughts.
Kathleen Culver
Hi Robert,
Thank you for the review.
These are, indeed quite a flat cookie - just the type you'd use for ice cream sandwiches (which would be fabulous with these!)
You can see a side view photograph of the cookies in the post, which does indicate their thickness.
I don't have a thick gingersnap type cookie recipe posted yet, but I will note your interest!
Kathleen
Tamera Leighton
AMAZING blend of ginger and molasses. I followed the recipe. Next time, I'll add even more candied ginger because YUM, and the molasses keeps them chewy. I'll shorten the baking time to 12 minutes. They weren't burnt -- not at all -- I'd just like them a bit less brown on the edges. Personal preference.
Kathleen Culver
Hi Tamera,
Thanks so much for the review and your detailed input!
I love when people take my recipes and adapt them to their own preferences.
The candied ginger is one of my favorite parts, too.
Kathleen
Jayne
Kathleen, you absolutely killed this recipe!!!! I can’t thank you enough, they were so easy to make yet so delicious. Just curious - could I store the dough balls in the fridge for a few days to bake fresh as desired? Thanks again!
Kathleen Culver
Thanks, Jayne!
I'm so glad you liked them.
Its fine to store the dough in the fridge in an airtight container (like a ziploc bag with the air squeezed out of it) for a few days.
Any longer than that, and I'd freeze the dough balls.
Kathleen
Julie
First time ever making ginger cookies. I crave ginger and wanted that big burst of flavor. I did have the candied pieces in there. That in itself was 10 minutes of work to have them diced, but well worth it. Some of the measurements didn't quite match up between cups/grams, so I went with grams. For me, these cookies were better than the store bought in 2 ways: they didn't have as much mass vs the soft big ginger cookies (from the co-op store bakery), easier on the belly, and they weren't rock hard like the smaller stronger ginger cookies from the bulk aisle. Like a perfect cross in between. Overall, very successful, but definitely time consuming. I started around 3pm and was completely done with 3 batches (27 cookies total, some stuck together) around 5:30pm. Of course, I did other things as I waited but with clean up it was a good 90+ minutes of work. All in all, recipe's a keeper for the next time I have the energy and the craving!
Kathleen Culver
Hi Julie,
Thank you so much for the review.
I'm so glad you enjoyed these.
It's definitely best to bake in grams if you have the chance.
I provide cups for those that bake by volume, but the accuracy of weighing ingredients can't be beat.
I'm curious about your comment saying that you got 27 total cookies from 3 batches, as when I bake these I get about 24 cookies from each batch.
Did you mean 27 cookies in each batch?
I use a cookie scoop to ensure that I'm making them uniformly.
Best,
Kathleen
Alaina
Amazing cookies!
Kathleen Culver
I'm so glad you liked them, Alaina - thank you!
Kathleen
Debbie
Made these yesterday with the addition of walnuts. So good! I took to a party and they ate them up. Thanks for sharing your recipe!
Kathleen Culver
Thanks so much, Debbie - I'm glad everyone enjoyed them!
Kathleen