CHEWY MOLASSES CRINKLE COOKIE

There’s nothing as heavenly as tucking into a spicy ginger and molasses cookie, all craggy and chewy with little bits of sugar caramelized on the bottom.  My mom used to bake these in batches in the winter and that warm hint of ginger, cloves, and cinnamon wafting through the house just brings me right back. We grew up near a large Amish settlement and some of their ingredients, including their homemade sorghum molasses, all salty and buttery, would end up in large quantities in our pantry which in turn got used into many recipes like this. It’s been a molasses love affair ever since. Alicia made me step away from the cookie jar, I almost didn’t have enough cookies left to take pictures. It’s gotten bad. 

Typical molasses cookies call for regular all-purpose flour (and they are delicious) but I tried a version cutting mine with spelt and I haven’t looked back. For texture, I suppose you could bake them longer until they go crunchy, but I like mine this way. Chewy and caramel-y on the outside and soft on the inside. It’s not necessary but I’ll even take them out a few times toward the last few minutes and give the tray a whack on the counter to big up the crinkles even more, as you would with the chocolate chip crinkle cookies. 

Ingredients

¾ cup butter (1 ½ sticks), at room temp

½ cup white sugar (you will also need a bit of extra sugar to roll cookies in)

½ cup packed brown sugar

¼ cup unsulphured molasses (like the brand “Grandma's Molasses”)

1 egg

1 cup all-purpose wheat flour

1 ¼ cup spelt flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 ½ teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon ground cloves

Method

1. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, salt and cloves in a bowl. Set aside

2. In a large bowl, with a hand mixer (what I use) or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together the soft butter and sugars for a few minutes until light, fluffy and pale yellow. You’ll occasionally need to scrape down the side with a spatula to get the batter clinging to the side. Blend in the egg, and then blend in the molasses until each is combined. 

3. With a spatula, gradually fold in half the dry ingredients and then fold in the other half until it is evenly combined. 

4. Transfer the dough to the freezer for hour until it is completely chilled. It should be to the point where it’s hard to chunk off a piece.

5. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a sheet tray (or two if you want to knock it out in one go) with parchment paper or a silpat.  

6. Use your hands to form the dough into balls, a little over 1 inch in diameter.  You should end up with about 20ish balls. Fill a small bowl with sugar and roll each ball in the sugar until completely coated. Place dough on the lined sheet, leaving about 2 inches of space between them. 

7. Bake for 12-15 minutes, rotating the pan and giving it a good whack on the counter after about 12 minutes, until the cookies begin to crack on top and then popping them back in for a few more minutes. By doing this, you’ll knock the air out of the cookies creating a flatter, more rippled effect. They’ll crack more when cooling. They should be slightly brown around the edges and able to be picked up with a spatula without falling apart. 

8. Remove from the oven, let cool for 5 minutes and move to a wire rack to cool. 

Serve warm and tuck in!