Savvy HQ Bake-Off Recipe 7

This past weekend, Angela, our Director of Business Development, was busy baking with her children for the Savvy Holiday Bake-Off. Angela wanted to bake something that could do double duty—both ornament and treat. They have a food tree in their kitchen, which is a Christmas tree dedicated to food items only—candy canes, oranges, popcorn, cranberries and now, gingerbread! Unlike Holly’s ginger cookies, Angela’s recipe required her to roll the dough and use cookie cutters to cut out shapes. The time and effort were worth it. These cookies are crunchy, spicy and they look adorable.
Ginger Molasses Cookies

Makes 22–24 large cookies

You’ll Need

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 Tbsp ground ginger
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• Pinch of salt (less than ¼ tsp)
• ¾ cup salted butter, softened 1¼ cups granulated sugar
• 1 large egg, at room temperature (leave out on the counter for 1 hour)
• ¼ cup fancy molasses

Prep and Cook

1. Preheat oven to 325°F.
2. Whisk together flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in one bowl.
3. In a separate bowl, use an electric mixer to cream butter and 1 cup sugar until light and fluffy.
4. Beat in egg until evenly mixed.
5. Add molasses; beat well.
6. In three additions, beat in flour mixture just until incorporated (don’t over-mix or the dough will be hard).
7. For 24 large cookies, shape dough into 24 balls, each about 2 Tbsp of dough.
8. Roll balls in bowl with remaining 1/4 cup sugar.
9. Place several inches apart on large, parchment-lined baking sheets.
10. Bake cookies for 15 minutes in or until just golden brown.
11. Cookies will spread as they cook and when you pull them out of the oven, they will be slightly puffy.
12. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet and as they cool, the cookies will darken and flatten, creating a crackling effect.
13. The easiest way to divide up the dough is to flatten it gently on the bottom of the bowl then use a knife to slice up into even quarters like a pizza. Then scoop up one quarter of dough at a time and further divide into smaller, even balls.

Good to Know: If you are planning on using your cookies for decorations, make a hole in the cookie with a straw before it goes in the oven so that you can put some ribbon through it later.

What is your favourite holiday cookie?