Chocolate Chip Ginger-Molasses Cookies

This is another recipe found on Orangette. I loved the bite from the ginger in these cookies! I used lactose-free margarine instead of shortening, so my cookies spread out a bit more than hers, but they were very good nonetheless. And I rolled them in granulated white sugar instead of Demerara, because I made them on a whim and did not have any in the pantry. It’s not the same, of course, but it’s still a nice touch. Of course, if you have demerara (or have time to go buy some), that’s what you should use.

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 ½ tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground allspice
2 tsp baking soda
¾ tsp salt
1 ¼ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
½ cup finely chopped crystallized ginger
¾ cup margarine or butter (at room temperature)
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup packed brown sugar
1 large egg
¼ cup molasses
½ cup demerara sugar, for rolling

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, baking soda, and salt. Whisk well. Add the chocolate chips and crystallized ginger, and whisk to blend. Set aside.


In a large bowl – preferably, a stand mixer – beat the margarine briefly to soften it. Add the sugars, and beat until fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add the egg and the molasses, and beat to blend well, scraping down the sides as needed.


Add the flour mixture in two doses, beating briefly after each until the flour is just absorbed. Do not overmix. Use a rubber spatula to give the dough a final stir if necessary; it will be quite firm and stiff. Cover the bowl, and refrigerate for 1 or 2 hours.


Preheat the oven to 350 °F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Pour the demerara sugar into a small bowl.

Using damp hands, pinch off blobs of dough and roll them into 1 ¼- to 1 ½-inch balls. Roll each ball in sugar to coat. Place them 2 inches apart on the baking sheets.

Bake the cookies until they are cracked on top but still soft to the touch, about 12 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through. Cool on the sheets for 1 minute; then carefully transfer the cookies – still on the parchment or silicone liner – to wire racks to cool completely. When they are cool, remove them from the parchment or silicone liner.