Spicy Molasses Cookies
These 100% whole wheat molasses cookies deliver a seriously spicy kick of flavor and that elusive crisp on the outside, soft on the inside texture.
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons raw (turbinado) sugar, divided
- ¾ cup whole wheat pastry flour*
- ⅓ cup whole wheat flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons (¾ stick) unsalted butter
- ¾ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ⅛ teaspoon ground allspice
- ⅛ teaspoon ground pepper (a couple of twists’ worth)
- ¼ cup light or dark molasses
- 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar or Muscovado sugar
- 1 large egg yolk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- With an oven rack in the middle position, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Pour 1 tablespoon of raw sugar into a small, shallow dish for rolling.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, baking soda and salt.
- In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in the cinnamon, ginger, cloves, allspice and pepper. Cook until fragrant, about 1 to 2 minutes.
- Transfer the butter mixture to a large bowl and let cool slightly.
- Whisk the remaining 3 tablespoons raw sugar, brown sugar, egg yolk, vanilla and molasses into the melted butter mixture. Stir in the flour mixture until combined.
- Use a cookie dough scoop or spoons to scoop out about one tablespoon of dough at a time. Lightly shape into a ball and dunk half the cookie into the small bowl of raw sugar. Place each cookie on the baking sheet, sugar side up, leaving a couple of inches around each cookie.
- Bake the cookies until the edges are set but the centers are still soft, puffy and underdone, which will take 9 to 12 minutes.
- Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for ten minutes, then serve warm or transfer to a cooling rack.
Notes
- Adapted from The America’s Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook.
- Note that you can temper the intensity of the molasses by choosing a lighter molasses and going with light brown sugar; the darker the better, in my opinion.
- *You can find whole wheat pastry flour in well-stocked grocery stores or in health food stores. If you don’t, the best substitute texture-wise would be all-purpose flour. Or substitute white whole wheat flour or regular whole wheat flour for less tender cookies.
- For flatter, less puffy cookies like you see in my gingersnap and pumpkin ice cream sandwiches, use 1 cup + 2 teaspoons white whole wheat (or regular whole wheat) flour in place of the whole wheat pastry/whole wheat flours indicated in the recipe.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
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