Chewy Ginger Molasses Cookies

Here I am baking on Sunday again. I've had my eye on this recipe for a while (i.e. it has been pinned to my Pinterest board for a while). I needed to make sure I had an exit strategy for these cookies, like I do with most baked goods. A potluck, a gift, a party...they just gotta get out of my kitchen before I eat them all. After a quick trip to Paper Source, the problem was solved: work teammate Christmas gifts.

They'll be gone by tomorrow and I get to feel like Santa. Win, win.

These cookies are only slightly more hands-on than chocolate chip cookies. They require hand rolling into balls, dredging through more sugar, and placing them at least 3" apart from each other. I learned the importance of that quickly with the first pan. Look, butt cookies!

I had originally planned to do my nutrition reading today since I'm a little behind, but I opted for cookie baking instead... which feels a little hypocritical somehow.

Gratitude Journal Entry: I'm grateful for the holidays. In addition to the pretty Christmas lights, red coffee cups and festive parties (excluding Santa Con - not grateful for that), we all get some much needed time off. Not going anywhere for the holidays? Lie and say you are! Throw up an out-of-office on your email for a few days, everyone else will be doing it. It's time to regroup!!

Chewy Ginger Molasses Cookies
(Recipe from Gimme Some Oven, I halved it)

3/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup molasses
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 375°F.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, soda, cinnamon, cloves, ginger and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, beat together butter and sugar on medium speed for 1 minute until light and fluffy.  Add in the eggs and molasses, and beat on medium-low speed until combined. Gradually add in the dry ingredient mixture and beat until combined.

Roll the dough into small balls, about 1.5-inch in diameter. Fill a small bowl with sugar, and roll each ball in the sugar until it is completely coated. Place on cookie sheet at least 3 inches apart, then bake for about 8-10 minutes, until the cookies begin to slightly crack on top.  (They may crack more while cooling.)  Remove from the oven and let cool for a minute or two. Then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Serve immediately or store in a sealed container for up to 1 week.

*This recipe made 40 cookies.