Soft and chewy ginger molasses cookies with eggnog cream cheese frosting are the PERFECT Christmas cookie! Set out a platter of these beauties for your next Christmas party or holiday gathering and no one will be able to resist these richly spiced cookies! Put them on your holiday baking list - so EASY to make, no rolling or cutting out necessary!
Prep Time15 minutesmins
Cook Time8 minutesmins
Additional Time2 hourshrs30 minutesmins
Total Time2 hourshrs53 minutesmins
Course: Cookies
Cuisine: American
Keyword: best ginger molasses cookies, chewy ginger cookies, chewy ginger molasses cookies, ginger iced cookies, ginger molasses cookie recipe, ginger molasses cookies, molasses ginger cookies, recipe for ginger cookies with molasses
Servings: 24
Calories: 181kcal
Author: Averie Sunshine
Ingredients
Cookies
½cupunsalted buttersoftened
¾cupgranulated sugar
¼cupunsulphered molasses
1large egg
1teaspoonvanilla extract
2cupsall-purpose flour
1teaspoonbaking soda
1teaspoonbaking powder
1 to 2teaspoonsground gingerI use 2 but add to taste
1teaspoonground cinnamon
½teaspoonground clovesor to taste
½teaspoonground nutmegor to taste
½teaspoonsalt
Eggnog Frosting
8ouncesbrick-style cream cheesefull fat only
2cupsconfectioners' sugarsifted recommended
2tablespoonseggnogor as desired (2% or whole milk may be substituted)
Instructions
Cookies - To a large mixing bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment), add the butter, sugar, and beat on high speed until fluffy about 3-4 minutes. Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Note - There is no brown sugar in this recipe as written. However, if you'd like to use 1/2 cup granulated sugar + 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar, it will work fine.
Add the molasses, egg, vanilla, and beat to just incorporate. Tip - When measuring molasses, first spray your measuring cup with cooking spray and the molasses will slide right out.
Add the flour, all spices, salt, and beat on low speed to incorporate until a smooth dough forms; don't overmix.
Cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours to chill the dough. Tip - Do not skip the chilling step or cookies will spread a lot during baking. I prefer to chill them in the fridge than the freezer because the dough chills more uniformly.
After two hours, preheat the oven to 350F, line two baking sheets with parchment or a Silpat.
Use a small cookie scoop to form approximately 24 mounds of dough. The dough mounds will be about 1 inch in diameter, or about 1 tablespoon in size.
Place approximately 12 cookie dough balls on each baking sheet, or spaced evenly and as necessary.
Bake for about 8 minutes, or until done. Baking Tips - If you make larger cookies, they will take longer to cook. As written, 1-inch cookie dough balls are pretty small cookies by today's standards and bake quickly, in just about 8 minutes, but all ovens vary. It's okay to pull cookies when they appear barely set because they'll continue to firm up as they cool. If possible, I suggest baking one baking sheet of cookies at a time, on the middle oven rack, rotating the baking sheet once midway through cooking for the most uniform baking results. Repeat with second baking sheet.
Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for about 5-10 minuts, or until they're cool enough to remove with a spatula and place on a wire race to cool completely.
Eggnog Frosting - Techinically this is optional but I highly recommend it! To a large mixing bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment), add the cream cheese and beat on high speed for 1-2 minutes. Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Add the confectioners' sugar, eggnog, and beat on low speed at first, gradually increasing the speed, until a smooth frosting has formed. Tips - The exact amount of eggnog (or milk) you need will depend on how thick or thin you like your frosting, your ingredients, and climate. Add additional liquid 1 tablespoon at a time if frosting is too thick; add confectioners' sugar 2 tablespoons at a time if frosting is too thin or runny.
Using a small spoon, knife, offset spatula, or small spatula, add a bit of frosting to the top of each cookies. Note - This frosting is not meant to be piped. It's applied casually and rustically. If desired, add sprinkles now.
The frosting will set on its own at room temp in a few hours, but you can accelerate the process by placing the cookies in the fridge for about 15 minutes.
Serving - I serve the cookies at room temp because they taste best to me, but some people may prefer them chilled.
Notes
Storage - Up to 18-24 hours after frosting the cookies, I am fine keeping them airtight at room temp; if you want to refrigerate them from the get-go, do so. After 18-24 hours, the cookies should be kept airtight in the fridge. You can freeze either unbaked dough balls OR baked cookies airtight for up to 3 months. Do not freeze frosted cookies.