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two chocolate ginger molasses cookies stacked on cooling rack

Soft and Chewy Chocolate Ginger Molasses Cookies

Yield: 24 -30 cookies
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients

  • ¾ cup (170 g) butter, melted
  • ⅓ cup (71 g) packed light or dark brown sugar
  • ⅓ cup (71 g) granulated sugar
  • ⅓ cup (100 g) unsulphured molasses (not blackstrap molasses)
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger (see note)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 ½ cups (213 g) all-purpose flour
  • ½ cup (43 g) natural, unsweetened or Dutch-process cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon ground ginger
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup (170 g) semisweet chocolate chips
  • Additional granulated sugar, for rolling

Instructions 

  • In a large bowl stir together the melted butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and molasses until well-combined.
  • Add the egg, fresh ginger and vanilla, and stir until well-combined.
  • Add the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and salt. Stir just until no dry streaks remain. Add the chocolate chips and stir until evenly combined (don't over mix).
  • Chill the dough for 1-2 hours or up to 24 hours.
  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two half sheet pans with parchment paper; set aside.
  • Scoop the dough and roll into balls (about 2 tablespoons per cookie - I use a #40 cookie scoop). If the dough has been chilled for a long period of time, let it sit out of the fridge for 15-20 minutes until it is scoopable.
  • Roll each cookie dough ball in granulated sugar and place on the prepared baking sheets a couple inches apart.
  • Bake for 10-12 minutes until cracks form on the top and the edges are set but the cookies are still soft in the center.
  • Let cool on the baking sheet for 2-3 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Notes

Fresh Ginger: the fresh ginger in these cookies is phenomenal (don't be scared!). You'll want about a 1/2-inch knob of fresh ginger. It works best to freeze it (unpeeled) and then grate it (again, unpeeled), frozen, on the small holes of a box grater or on a rasp grater. I buy large knobs of ginger, cut them into 1/2- or 1-inch pieces and keep them in a ziploc bag in the freezer.
If you have the frozen cubes of ginger on hand (I've seen them at Trader Joe's and other grocery stores), I *believe* they would work in this cookie recipe. Thaw the ginger before using.
Ground Ginger: the recipe already calls for some ground ginger. I haven't tried subbing the fresh ginger out for ground, but if doing so, I'd recommend subbing in 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger for the fresh ginger.