Chewy Ginger Cookies (2024)

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

3/4 cup (packed) dark brown sugar

1/2 cup vegetable shortening (preferably trans-fat free)

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 large egg

1/2 cup blackstrap (robust) molasses

2 teaspoons finely grated peeled ginger

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger

1 cup raw or sanding sugar

Leave a Review

• I made these as written. VERY tasty but not the texture I expected. They were never chewy and got softer and more delicate as they sat. Would still make them again, but may do some searching to figure out how to fix the texture.

  • Kat

  • New York, NY

  • 12/19/2021

• Rip off of Alice Medrich’s ginger cookies, with just enough changes to get away with it. I’ll stick with the original.

  • Anonymous

  • 12/5/2021

• I made this with the King Arthur Cup for Cup as others have and made a double recipe. I like cookies small, so this produced about 13 doz, or 6.5 doz per batch. They don't spread much, which was perfect. My oven runs a little cool, so I found 14 min. to be just right - cooked through but still soft in the middle. I also made the dough a day in advance - I like the ginger to infuse the dough. Will definitely make again.

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  • dwbennett

  • The Poconos, PA

  • 5/1/2020

• As some others, my cookies were flat and tops did not crack - very disappointed. Flavour is okay - but not great. Followed the recipe so not sure what I did wrong. Also, the instructions are a bit confusing. It says to place the racks in the oven in 2 locations but does not fully explain why. #3 says to "rotate" the sheets halfway through the cooking but to me that would mean actually rotating a sheet so the front becomes the back. I assume it is meant to mean rotate top to bottom but nowhere does it actually say you use 2 sheets at the same time.

  • deborah88

  • Toronto, Canada

  • 4/19/2020

• Delicious a bit messy but really yummy. I think the dough was a bit wet so I might hold back on the molasses a bit... Don't eat them warm... they taste better when the cool!

  • lbptalk

  • Virgnia

  • 12/19/2017

• These are okay, not as gingery as I would like. I took the advice of some other reviewers and refrigerated the dough for a few hours. I weighed the dough and found that 48 cookies would need 20 grams of dough each. I rolled them into balls and tossed half of them in turbinado sugar. The texture of the sugar vs non- sugar cookies are quite different and preferred the sugared ones, which look like the ones in the photo. But they are a lot of work, and not what I was looking for.

  • jng

  • USA

  • 3/30/2017

• Yummy! Would definitely recommend refrigerating the dough at least one hour to make it easier to scoop and roll into the sugar. 3 days later, cookies almost gone, but all are still soft and chewy.

  • anniec_103

  • Chicago

  • 12/19/2016

• We LOVE these cookies! A truly yummy ginger cookie that even my son loves. They are once again part of my holiday baking.

  • QTcook

  • Tucson, AZ

  • 12/18/2016

• Oh No!!! I have to revise my review! I made these again today using normal flour instead of the King Arthur Measure for Measure GF Flour (to give as gifts) and I could not get them to be edible and gift-able! For the first pan I tried using a smaller amount of dough for a smaller cookie. I watched them closely and took them out when they started to crack. They cooled into a paper thin cookie. BAD. I let the dough sit overnight in the refrigerator, and tried again but using the 1T sized cookies. Same result, but a larger, paper thin icky cookie. I am SO DISAPPOINTED! I'll probably try again with the GF flour - that's the only change I made.

  • carolannV

  • Florida

  • 12/17/2016

• I just made these and they are one of the best cookies I've ever baked! I followed the recipe except I used the King Arthur Measure For Measure Gluten Free flour, and put the dough in the refrigerator for 1 hour before forming and baking the cookies - the dough was very easy to handle. They are FABULOUS! We love ginger and next time I will even add a little more fresh ginger. They are a little thicker than the picture, but very soft inside - maybe because they are still warm. They may get chewy once cooler but I love them as they are now! Anyone who loves ginger will not be disappointed!

  • carolannV

  • Florida

  • 12/9/2016

• These cookies are outstanding! I used all (unsalted) butter instead of shortening and used slightly less than the recipe called for. Otherwise I followed the recipe exactly. If you like strong ginger flavor, you'll love this cookie! Definitely a keeper.

  • Anonymous

  • DC

  • 12/4/2016

• Excellent! With a few caveats. I made these this weekend after having read the reviews. I have been searching for a ginger cookie that is both soft and bursting with ginger flavor and figured the triple shot of ginger in this recipe should do the trick. The cookies came out gorgeous and sparkly like the photo. Very festive. Perfectly soft and chewy. I chilled the dough for 2 hours and did not have any issues with forming it into balls. The chilled dough was actually very cooperative. . HOWEVER, as a matter of personal preference, I don't really like the coarse sanding sugar coating. I made half the batch with the coarse sugar and half with normal sugar coating. I found that while the the sanding sugar looks amazing it makes the cookies crunchy as well as chewy. Still taste good, but I prefer the less glamorous regular sugar in terms of texture. Will definitely be making these again for the holidays!

  • sam_super

  • Calgary

  • 11/24/2016

• P. S. These were even better after a few days - more chewy and spicey.

  • jansan1

  • Orange County, CA

  • 11/1/2016

• Perfect! And perfectly easy if you follow the directions.

  • jansan1

  • Orange County, CA

  • 10/6/2016

• Great recipe. I had no problem with the cookies spreading. They came out looking very much like the picture. I used a cookie scoop, and ended up with exactly 48 cookies. Really nice flavor, really pretty cookies. I will be sure to make these again.

  • hei

  • Klamath Falls, OR

  • 12/24/2015

TagsCookieDessertMolassesGingerNut FreeEasyBakingElectric MixerBon Appétit