These spiced ginger cookies are sweetened with sugar, honey, and molasses, ensuring they stay soft and that the flavors of the spices aren't overpowered by molasses. A light, mild-flavored honey works best here. These cookies bake up chewy with a bit of crispiness right around the edges. I think you'll really love them.
156gramsgranulated sugar5.5 oz or a generous 3/4 cup
43gramsfinely minced crystallized ginger1.5 oz or 2 tightly packed tablespoons
4teaspoonsground ginger
2teaspoonspumpkin spice
½teaspoonground cardamom
1/4-1/2teaspoonfinely ground black pepper
1 ½teaspoonsDiamond Crystal salt1 teaspoon Morton's kosher salt or about 1/2-3/4 teaspoons fine salt or table salt
85gramsmolasses3 oz or 1/4 cup
85gramslight honey3 oz or 1/4 cup
2eggs
For the Salted Ginger Sugar
70gramsgranulated sugar2.5 oz or about 1/3 cup
very heavy pinch of salt
1/2-1teaspoonground ginger
Instructions
Making the Dough
In a large bowl, melt the butter in the microwave until it's mostly melted and then whisk to melt completely. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine sugar, minced crystallized ginger, ground ginger, pumpkin spice, ground cardamom, black pepper, and salt. Mix well with your fingertips, rubbing the sugar into the crystallized ginger so it separates rather than clumping together.
Whisk the sugar mixture into the melted butter.
In the bowl that had the sugar in it, whisk the two flours together with the baking soda. Set aside.
Add the molasses and honey to the sugar mixture and whisk well.
Drop in the eggs and whisk until completely combined and somewhat paler in color, about 30 seconds or so.
Slowly stir in the flour mixture until no loose flour remains.
Cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour.
While the Dough Chills
While the dough is chilling, whisk together the ingredients for the salted ginger sugar.
Line two (or four) baking sheets with parchment, place a rack in the center of the oven, and heat the oven to 350F.
Portioning and Baking
When ready to bake, portion the dough into 1-oz pieces. Note: dough will still be soft and a little sticky but not frustratingly so.
Drop each portion into the salted ginger sugar and roll to coat completely. Round each portion between your palms to form balls. Roll again in the ginger sugar and set on baking sheets, 10-11 to a sheet. Leave about 2" between the balls of dough.
Bake 1 pan at a time in the center of the oven for 6 minutes.
Bang the pan on the oven rack a few times to deflate the cookies and help them spread and crinkle on top.
Rote the pan 180 degrees and bake 6 additional minutes.
Remove cookies from the oven, banging the pan a few more times for good measure. Allow the cookies to cool on the sheet for 5 minutes and then use a spatula to transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Repeat with the remaining three trays.
Notes
Tips for Success
Chill the dough for an hour before shaping the cookies
Don't skip seasoning the sugar for rolling the dough balls in. Sugar + salt + ginger = salted ginger sugar
Bang the baking sheet on the counter a few times when you rotate it halfway during baking and again when you remove it from the oven
Small-Batch Recipe
Yielding about 17 cookies
2.5 oz melted butter
2.75 oz sugar
1.5 oz molasses
1.5 oz honey
1 egg
4 oz all-purpose flour
2 oz bread flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
0.75 oz finely minced crystallized ginger
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon pumpkin spice
1/4 teaspoon cardamom
several grindings of black pepper
3/4 teaspoon Diamond Crystal Kosher salt or 1/2 teaspoon Morton's kosher salt