Ingredients
8 ounces or 226 grams (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at soft room temperature
1 cup or 213 grams brown sugar, light or dark
1/2 cup or 100 grams white sugar
2 medium eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/3 cup or 113 grams molasses, unsulphured old-fashioned or blackstrap
1/2 cup or 120 grams sourdough starter, active or discard
3 and 1/2 cups or 490 grams all purpose flour
1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons kosher salt*
3 teaspoons ground ginger
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
optional: 1 teaspoon of freshly grated ginger and/or about 1/4 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