Good morning! Have you ever been to a cookie exchange? You know the kind – you make 5 dozen cookies to take and end up with some of each variety to take back home to your house. All the deliciousness of a Christmas cookie tray without all of the work. So today we’re doing a virtual cookie exchange – you can find me over at Taste and Tell sharing a recipe for Soft Chocolate Gingersnaps. Meanwhile, I’m welcoming one of the sweetest bloggers I know to share a holiday cookie recipe here on C&C – Ashley from Kitchen Meets Girl. {Read all the way to the end of this post for the complete list of cookie recipes from today’s exchange.}
Hi there Crumbs and Chaos readers! I’m Ashley, from Kitchen Meets Girl, and I’m so excited to be here today to participate in this Virtual Christmas Cookie Exchange – you know, one of those events where everyone brings cookies to swap. Well, the great part of this exchange is that it doesn’t come along with all of the calories. 😉
Well, at least not quite as many calories…I did eat quite a few of these cookies before, during, and after photographing them.
I have to tell you that Becca is one of my very favorite bloggers. She is always so sweet and kind and genuine. Not only that, but Crumbs and Chaos was one of the first blogs to “feature” me on a weekly link party. Perhaps that doesn’t seem like a big deal, but in this vast internet world, it really meant a lot to a then-newbie blogger like me. Plus, Becca posts amazing recipes like this Chocolate Peppermint Bread, Tex-Mex Chili, and Cranberry Streusel Coffee Cake.
I wanted to share a traditional Molasses Spice cookie with you today – these are one of my very favorite cookies during the holiday season. I think sometimes molasses cookies get a bad rap. They’re often dry and cakey, or baked without much flavor.
These are not that cookie.
They’re soft and chewy, and perfectly spiced with a combination of brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, cloves, black pepper (trust me!) and allspice.
I love the deep flavor of dark molasses, but if you prefer a milder flavor, choose a light molasses instead.
To avoid a dry or tough cookie, make sure you pull these from the oven when they still look a bit underdone – just let ’em sit on the baking sheet for a few minutes and the residual heat will finish the baking.
Holiday cookie perfection!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup plus 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 cup dark molasses
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, allspice, pepper, and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter, brown sugar and remaining 1/3 cup granulated sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low and add in egg yolk and vanilla; then increase your speed to medium and beat to incorporate - about 20 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Reduce speed to low again and add in the flour mixture and beat just until combined - about 30 seconds. Give dough a final stir with a spatula or wooden spoon. Chill dough for at least 30 minutes.
- While the dough is chilling, adjust oven rack to the middle position and preheat oven to 375. Line baking sheets with parchment or a Silpat and set aside.
- Place 1/2 cup of sugar into a medium bowl or pie plate. Using a 1 tablespoon cookie scoop, roll dough into balls and then roll dough balls into the sugar to coat. Place dough balls on prepared cookie sheets approximately 2 inches apart.
- Bake approximately 11 minutes, rotating cookie sheet halfway through the baking time. Your cookies should look puffy, with the edges just beginning to set and the centers still soft. Do not over bake!
- Allow the cookies to cool on a baking sheet for 5 minutes - the residual heat will finish the baking. Then transfer the cookies to a wire rack and let cool to room temperature.
I’d be thrilled if you’d stop by Kitchen Meets Girl sometime and say hello! I love making easy dinners at home – this Firecracker Chicken is our favorite. I also have a healthy belief that you can never have too many banana bread recipes in your repertoire: this Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter version is one of my top viewed posts, so my readers love it, too. You can also find me spending entirely too much time on Facebook and Pinterest! Thanks, Becca, for letting me share these holiday cookies with you today!
cookie exchange recipes…
Candy Cane Meringue Cookies shared on Bless This Mess by Sweet Treats and More
Chocolate Filled Gingersnaps on Barbara Bakes by Taste and Tell
Chocolate Peppermint & Oreo Cookies shared on Let’s Dish by Mandy’s Recipe Box
Chocolate Strawberry Truffles shared on Sweet Sugarbelle by Hoosier Homemade
Crispy Maple Sugar Cookies shared on Mandy’s Recipe Box by Bless This Mess
Gingerbread Drop Cookies shared on Kitchen Meets Girl by Munchkin Munchies
Iced Gingerbread Cookies shared on A Family Feast by Roxana’s Home Baking
Italian Almond Cookies shared on Munchkin Munchies by Your Homebased Mom
Molasses Cookies shared on Crumbs and Chaos by Kitchen Meets Girl
Orange & Ginger Cookies with Chocolate Drizzle shared on Your Homebased Mom by A Family Feast
Orange Ginger Pecan Cookies shared on Sweet Treats and More by Let’s Dish
Snowmen Cookie Pops shared on Roxana’s Home Baking by Sweet Sugarbelle
Soft Chocolate Gingersnaps shared on Taste and Tell by Crumbs and Chaos
Soft Gingersnap Cookies shared on Hoosier Homemade by Barbara Bakes
These look perfect! I love holiday cookies like this–simple but completely delicious. Thanks so much for hosting the cookie exchange–can’t wait to try your soft chocolate gingersnaps too. Love that flavor combination!
Danelle recently posted..Virtual Cookie Exchange: Chocolate Peppermint & Oreo Cookies from Mandy’s Recipe Box
I love a nice, soft and chewy Molasses cookie and these look perfect
I know I would love these cookies; they look wonderful and sound fantastic!
I love molasses cookies and these look like PERFECTION! Pinned!
Trish – Mom On Timeout recently posted..Turtle Pecan Pie Bars
I love soft molasses cookies! These look amazing!
Kristy @ Sweet Treats & More recently posted..Easy Snickerdoodle Fudge & a $200 Christmas Cash Giveaway!
Chewy is what I’m after! Thanks for this recipe!
Julia recently posted..Pomegranate and Green Pesto Bites