Equipment
Ingredients
Wet Ingredients
- 170 g unsalted butter
- 150 g dark brown sugar, packed
- 50 g granulated sugar
- 85 g unsulphured dark molasses
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 10 ml vanilla extract
Dry Ingredients
- 280 g all-purpose flour
- 8 g baking soda
- 6 g ground ginger
- 4 g ground cinnamon
- 3 g fine sea salt
- 1 g ground cloves
Coating
- 50 g turbinado sugar
Nutrition (per serving)
Method
Melt the unsalted butter in a light-colored saucepan over medium heat. Continue cooking, swirling occasionally, until the butter foams and golden brown specks appear at the bottom, emitting a nutty caramel aroma. Immediately transfer to a large mixing bowl to cool slightly for 10 minutes.
Add the dark brown sugar, granulated sugar, and unsulphured molasses to the browned butter. Whisk aggressively until smooth. Add the egg and vanilla extract, whisking until the mixture becomes glossy and homogenous.
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking soda, ground ginger, ground cinnamon, sea salt, and ground cloves.
Pour the dry ingredients into the wet mixture. Use a rubber spatula to fold the dough gently until just combined and no streaks of dry flour remain. The dough will be quite soft.
Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour. This hydrates the flour, firms the butter, and melds the spice flavors.
Preheat the oven to 175°C (350°F) and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Scoop the chilled dough into 34g portions. Roll them into smooth spheres between your palms, then toss each ball in the turbinado sugar until generously and evenly coated. Arrange on the baking sheets spacing them 5cm apart.
Bake one sheet at a time at 175°C (350°F) for 10 to 12 minutes. The cookies are done when the edges are set and the centers look slightly puffed and underbaked.
Allow the cookies to rest on the hot baking sheet for 5 minutes before carefully transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Chef's Notes
- Browning the butter is the secret technique here. It builds a complex, toffee-like caramel flavor that beautifully complements the earthy molasses without making the cookie overwhelmingly sweet.
- Always use unsulphured baking molasses. Blackstrap molasses is far too bitter, intensely acidic, and will negatively alter the texture and flavor profile of the dessert.
- Rolling the dough balls in coarse turbinado or demerara sugar is critical. It not only provides a beautiful, sparkling bakery-style finish, but the crunchy exterior offers a necessary textural contrast to the dense, chewy interior.
- If you want pronounced crinkles, firmly tap the baking sheet on the oven rack or your stovetop halfway through the baking process to deflate the cookies slightly.
Storage
Refrigerator: 1 week — Store unbaked dough wrapped tightly in plastic wrap to prevent drying out.
Freezer: 3 months — Freeze baked cookies in an airtight container, or freeze pre-rolled dough balls before coating in sugar.
