Soft and Chewy Ginger Molasses Cookies

These beat anything you can buy this time of year at the local coffee shop. Their crispy edges showcase the treacly flavour while the tender middles provide the perfect chew.

If you like a sugar coating on your cookies, roll the dough in granulated sugar before baking.

This recipe makes 24 large cookies.

¾ cup soft unsalted butter ½ cup granulated sugar ½ cup firmly packed light brown sugar 1 egg ¼ cup molasses 1 tsp. vanilla 2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour 1 tsp. baking soda 1 tbsp. ground ginger 1 tsp. ground cinnamon 1 tsp. ground allspice ½ tsp. ground cloves ½ tsp. salt, (halve if using salted butter)

Cream butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar until light and creamy, 3 or 4 minutes. Don’t shortcut the creaming. If the butter is a bit too firm to take in the sugar completely, microwave the bowl for 10 seconds and beat the mixture again. You can microwave another 10 seconds, but don’t push your luck beyond that or you might melt the butter. Beat in egg, molasses and vanilla. Whisk or sift together flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, cloves and salt and stir into creamed mixture until there are no streaks of dry ingredients.

Divide batter into 24 and roll into balls. Place on 2 parchment paper-lined baking sheets at least 2 inches apart and bake at 350 F for 10 to 12 minutes, until starting to brown lightly. For crispier cookies, bake another 2 minutes or so. Let them rest on the baking sheets for 5 minutes then remove them to a rack to cool completely.