These crispy, spice scented cookies are now one of our favorite desserts. They have a crunchy exterior and centers that are a bit softer. I love how the sugar coating gives them even more texture. This is a simple recipe for those who want a quick sweet treat.
Most of the ingredients are probably already in your pantry. There’s nothing fancy about the recipe yet it turns out delicious, rustic little cookies that are hard to resist. I used Miyoko’s vegan butter for a lactose free cookie, however, you may use regular butter or coconut oil.
The dough is chilled for 30 minutes or so. Depending on your weather it may take longer than 30 minutes. Here on Maui the weather is always warm so I find that chilling the dough for an hour is best. The original recipe calls for rolling the cookie dough balls into granulated sugar. This works great but if you happen to have coarse sparkling sugar it will bump up the crispy texture once the cookies are baked and cooled.
I had a bit of white chocolate hanging around so I melted it in my homemade double boiler. I quickly spread it over the top of some of the cookies then sprinkled mini hearts confetti on the white chocolate. I placed the frosted cookies in the refrigerator uncovered for a few minutes to set the white chocolate. A perfect little treat to share with friends for Valentine’s Day.
- 4 tablespoons (57g) Miyoko's vegan butter, at room temperature (substitute with regular butter or ¼ cup (53g) coconut oil
- ½ cup (92g) vegetable shortening
- 1 cup (198g) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (85g) molasses (I used Brer Rabbit mild)
- 1 large egg
- 2 cups (240g) unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoons cloves
- Coating: Granulated sugar, coarse sparkling sugar (optional), melted white chocolate and sprinkles (optional)
- In a medium bowl, beat together the butter, shortening, and sugar until smooth. Stir in molasses and egg.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices. Add to wet ingredients and mix until smooth. Cover and refrigerate for 30-60 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Scoop dough with a tablespoon scoop and roll into 1-inch balls. Roll the balls in sugar and place on the baking sheet, leaving 1½-inch space between them.
- Bake for about 10 minutes. Tap pan on rack to flatten cookies. Bake an additional 1-2 minutes until cookies are cracked on top and not yet browned at the edges. Remove from the oven and let cool on the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a rack to finish cooling.
- If your climate is cool, store in an airtight container for up to one day. I prefer to store in an airtight container with waxed paper layers, in the freezer.
- Optional: Decorate some of the cookies with white chocolate and sprinkles.