Joanne Chang's Ginger Molasses Cookies

Look to Flour Bakery + Cafe‘s dessert doyenne, Joanne Chang, for the most delicious Ginger Molasses Cookie to round out your holiday baking. The James Beard Award-winning pastry chef and cookbook author (and Insta star and Baking Impossible judge – she’s wicked busy) uses just the right balance of ginger, cinnamon and clove for a super flavorful warm spiciness that’s not overpowering (so you can still taste the butter and sugar and cookie-ish goodness).

Ingredients

3/4 cup (11/2 sticks; 168 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled until cool to the touch
1 cup (230 grams) packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup (85 grams) molasses
1 egg
2 cups (280 grams) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Granulated sugar

Directions

If you’re baking the cookies on the same day you prepare the batter, heat the oven to 350 degrees and position a rack in the center of the oven.
Using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or an electric hand mixer), combine the butter, brown sugar, molasses, and egg and mix for about 20 seconds until well combined. In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Stir the dry ingredients into the butter-sugar mixture until well mixed.
For best results, scrape dough into an airtight container and let it rest in the refrigerator overnight (or at least 3 to 4 hours) before baking. The next day, heat the oven to 350 degrees and position a rack in the center of the oven.
Scoop out 1/4-cup balls of dough and place them one by one in a small bowl of granulated sugar and gently roll the balls to coat them on all sides. Place the cookies on a baking sheet about 2 inches apart and bake for 16 to 18 minutes, until the cookies are crackly on top and just barely firm to the touch. Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool for 5 to 10 minutes on the sheet, then remove the cookies from the sheet and let them continue cooling on a wire rack.
The cookies can be stored for up to 3 days in an airtight container at room temperature. The unbaked dough can be stored for up to 1 week in the refrigerator in an airtight container.