These Sourdough Ginger Molasses Cookies are truly the best. They are soft and chewy inside with that crackled, sparkly exterior we all love. Full of warm holiday spices and packed with nostalgia, this classic recipe gets a sourdough upgrade with the addition of sourdough starter - either active or discard.
If Christmas had a smell, it would be these cookies baking in the oven. The smell instantly transports me to my grandma's house at Christmastime (oh how I miss her!), and it just is not Christmas until we have a tray of chewy ginger molasses cookies cooling on the counter. This recipe is a very loose adaptation of my granny's beloved recipe which you can find in my Gingerbread Caramel Thumbprint Cookies. I had to do some fiddling to get the sourdough starter into these, of course, but the results are everything I hoped for!
Jump to:
Ingredients
This is a pretty standard cookie recipe with some basic pantry staples - I'll just talk about the more unique ingredients here and you can find the full list in the recipe card. You will of course need molasses and you can use any brand. I've made these with regular molasses as well as blackstrap and they turn out great either way. Similarly, you can use either light brown or dark brown sugar in this recipe with no noticeable difference.
When it comes to the spices, I use the whole cozy collection. If you prefer to just use cinnamon and ginger, you can. I use the blend my grandma used which includes nutmeg, cloves, and allspice along with the cinnamon and ginger. This combination gives a real depth of flavor and an old-fashioned edge that I really love around the holidays. Feel free to add some freshly grated ginger and/or some chopped crystallized ginger.
And finally, the sourdough starter is what really makes these unique. You can use either active or discard since we are not relying on the starter to leaven these cookies. Just be sure to stir it down really well before measuring to knock out bubbles and get an accurate measurement.
Step-by-Step Instructions
This cookie dough comes together in minutes in a stand mixer, but you could use a hand mixer or a wooden spoon and some elbow grease.
Mix butter and sugars until very light and fluffy.
Add eggs and vanilla and mix again until combined and creamy.
Add sourdough starter and molasses and mix once more until combined and creamy.
Your batter might look a little curdled at this stage which is normal.
Add flour, spices, salt, and baking soda and mix until combined.
Chill dough* for an hour before scooping (or up to 48 hours if covered very well)
Roll dough balls in sugar just before baking.
Place on parchment and bake.
*The chilling really makes this dough easier to work with, but if you are in a super hurry you can bake them right away. Just know that the dough will be very soft. You will still get a nice crackled top and a perfect soft and chewy cookie, you just might have some dough sticking to your hands when you roll the dough balls.
Top Tip
Don't overbake! I found that room temp dough took 9 minutes and cold, firm dough took about 10-11 minutes. The cookies will look domed and slightly underbaked in the cracks but will sink and settle as they cool on the trays.
More Sourdough Discard Recipes
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Sourdough Ginger Molasses Cookies Recipe
These Sourdough Ginger Molasses Cookies are truly the best - soft and chewy inside with that crackled, sparkly exterior we all love. Full of warm holiday spices and packed with nostalgia, this classic recipe gets a sourdough upgrade with the addition of sourdough starter - either active or discard.
- Total Time: about an hour
- Yield: 36 cookies
Ingredients
8 ounces or 226 grams (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at soft room temperature
1 cup or 213 grams brown sugar, light or dark
½ cup or 100 grams white sugar
2 medium eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
⅓ cup or 113 grams molasses, unsulphured old-fashioned or blackstrap
½ cup or 120 grams sourdough starter, active or discard
3 and ½ cups or 490 grams all purpose flour
1 and ½ teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons kosher salt*
3 teaspoons ground ginger
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground allspice
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
optional: 1 teaspoon of freshly grated ginger and/or about ¼ cup finely chopped crystallized ginger if you like a really pronounced ginger flavor. (I do!)
for rolling the dough balls:
about 1 cup of granulated sugar - you won't use the full amount but it's nice to have a cushion.
Instructions
- If you are not chilling your dough, preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a few cookie trays with parchment.
- In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix butter and sugars until light and fluffy - about 3-5 minutes on medium speed. You can also use a hand mixer or a wooden spoon to mix this dough. You'll have to really whip the butter and sugar vigorously by hand, but it's doable.
- Scrape down bowl and paddle and add eggs and vanilla. Mix again until combined and creamy.
- Scrape down again and add molasses and sourdough starter. Mix again until combined. It might look curdled at this stage but don't worry - it will come together in the next step.
- Scrape down sides and add all dry ingredients (flour, spices, salt, and baking soda). Mix on low speed until fully combined.
- Give the bowl a final scrape and mix with a silicone spatula. At this point I recommend covering the dough and refrigerating for at least an hour or up to 48 hours. If you want to bake now, you can but the dough will be very soft and sticky.
- When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F and scoop two tablespoons of dough, roll into a ball, and roll in granulated sugar. Place balls on parchment lined trays and bake for 9-11 minutes in preheated oven (*see below). The cookies are done when the tops look cracked and within the cracks the cookies will look slightly underbaked. They will puff up but then sink and crack more as they cool. *From cold, they take 10-11 minutes, unchilled they take about 9 minutes.
- Cool on cookie trays for 20 minutes before transferring to cooling racks to cool completely.
Notes
A heavier amount of salt really makes the flavor pop in these cookies. Feel free to cut it back if you don't agree.
If using a fine table salt you will want to use about half this amount. I used Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt when testing this recipe which weighs about 3 grams per teaspoon. Not all salts measure the same. Here is a handy salt conversion article.
The chilling really makes this dough easier to work with, but if you are in a super hurry you can bake them right away. Just know that the dough will be very soft. You will still get a nice crackled top and a perfect soft and chewy cookie, you just might have some dough sticking to your hands when you roll the dough balls.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes per tray
- Category: cookies, Christmas, sourdough recipes, sourdough discard recipes
- Method: baking, sourdough
- Cuisine: American
Leave a Rating and Review!