How do you keep ginger molasses cookies soft?

These cookies will stay soft if stored in an airtight container at room temp! Expose them to air for a long period of time, and they will become crispy.

Why are my ginger molasses cookies flat?

A few tips to avoid flat cookies. First, chill the dough for at least an hour (very important)! Second, when you roll the cookies, roll them into taller balls instead of perfectly round ones. And third, make sure the dough hasn't gotten too warm when you put the cookies in the oven. If you think the dough has gotten too warm, you can roll the dough balls, and then place the cookies in the freezer for 5-10 minutes right before baking.

What makes ginger molasses cookies chewy?

Cookies are chewy when moisture content is present, dough is chilled, and cookies are not over-baked. For these ginger molasses cookies, the brown sugar, molasses, and egg help create chewy cookies. Also, we chill the dough so the cookies stay thick. Finally, we slightly under-bake the cookies and allow them to finish cooking on the baking sheet, resulting in soft-textured cookies.

Healthier Soft Ginger Molasses Cookies

Description

These healthier soft ginger molasses cookies have incredible flavor and the chewiest, soft texture! Each cookie dough ball is rolled in a little bit of coarse sugar for sparkle and crunch. Make sure to eat at least one while it's still warm!

Ingredients

Units Scale

2 cups white whole wheat flour (or spelt flour)
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter (1 1/2 sticks), softened to room temperature
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup coconut sugar
1/4 cup molasses (unsulphured)
1 egg, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
coarse sugar, for rolling

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Instructions

Mix dry ingredients. In a bowl, whisk together white whole wheat flour, baking soda, ground ginger, ground cinnamon, and salt.
Mix wet ingredients. With a hand mixer & separate bowl or a stand mixer, cream the butter, brown sugar, coconut sugar, and molasses together at a medium speed until smooth (about two minutes). Add the egg and vanilla, and beat on high to combine (about 30 seconds). Scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula as necessary.
Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients. Pour the dry ingredients mixture into the bowl of wet ingredients and mix on low speed until just combined. This will be a thick dough!
Chill the dough. Cover and chill the dough in an airtight container for at least 1 hour, and up to 3 days. The flavor really intensifies when chilled for a least a day, so it's worth the wait if you prepare in advance! Otherwise, 1 hour is the minimum required.
Preheat & prep. When you're ready to bake, preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and line two baking sheets with unbleached parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
Roll & sugar cookie dough balls. Roll the cookie dough into balls, 2 tablespoons each. Roll each ball in coarse sugar and place on the cookie sheets about 3 inches apart (I usually do about 12 per sheet).
Bake. Bake for 9-11 minutes. Then, remove from the oven (cookies will look VERY soft, but they will harden up as they finish cooling) and allow the cookies to cool on the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Notes

Dough: If you chill the dough for longer than 1 hour, you may need to let it sit out on the counter for up to 30 minutes if the dough is hard and difficult to roll.
Oven times: If you have a convection oven, I recommend baking for less time (~9 minutes) than in a regular oven to prevent the cookies from becoming puffy and cakey.

Prep Time: 80 min
Cook Time: 12 min
Category: Dessert
Method: Bake
Cuisine: American

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1 cookie
Calories: 133
Sugar: 9.9 g
Sodium: 84.7 mg
Fat: 6.2 g
Saturated Fat: 3.7 g
Trans Fat: 0 g
Carbohydrates: 18.2 g
Fiber: 1.3 g
Protein: 1.8 g
Cholesterol: 23 mg