These are the holiday cookies we always make. All butter will make the cookies firmer; the shortening keeps the cookies soft.
| Prep Time: | 20 mins |
| Cook Time: | 10 mins |
| Total Time: | 30 mins |
| Servings: | 48 |
| Yield: | 4 dozen cookies |
Ingredients
- 2 cups lightly packed brown sugar
- 1 cup butter-flavored shortening, melted
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
- ½ cup molasses
- 2 eggs
- 1 tablespoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup coarse sugar crystals, or as needed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
- Whisk brown sugar, shortening, butter, molasses, eggs, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, salt, cloves, and cayenne pepper together in a large bowl until glossy; fold in flour until dough is just-combined.
- Pour coarse sugar into a shallow bowl. Roll dough into 48 balls. Roll balls in sugar and place 2-inches apart on a baking sheet.
- Bake in the preheated oven until the tops of the cookies crack, about 9 minutes.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 151 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 22 g |
| Cholesterol | 13 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 0 g |
| Protein | 1 g |
| Saturated Fat | 2 g |
| Sodium | 129 mg |
| Sugars | 13 g |
| Fat | 7 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
I absolutely love this recipe. With the cayenne pepper it is so nice after bite.
This recipe is a winner. I made these cookies according to recipe and they are delicious and perfectly spiced. A gentle tang on your tongue. Using rounded teaspoons it made 65 cookies and took about 11 minutes. Will bake these again.
I made some changes – made it vegan, and a little bit more crumbly.
Very good , got the thumbs up from my wife .
Very good , got the thumbs up from my wife .
This is an excellent recipe. I followed it except that in addition to the ground ginger I added two tablespoons of finely chopped fresh ginger. I used a two tablespoon scoop and baked for 14 minutes. Came out crusty on the edges and soft in the middle which I think is the best. Part of the reason for the extra cooking time is that I use full size insulated cookie sheets that seem to add about three minutes to cooking times found here.
I used a melon scooper to make perfect, uniform cookies. They were absolutely delicious.
Omg these were delicious!! I did drizzle melted rolos on the tops and I didn’t have cayenne. I thought I did but didn’t realize until it was too late. I will make these again and again. A dozen was gone in minutes. Three kids adored them.
These are wonderful cookies – if you want to keep them at all soft / chewy definitely don’t overbake though! I cut the cayenne pepper in half, but otherwise followed the recipe as written. I made the cookies just a little smaller then called for as well, so ended up with a few more then the recipe said it would make (which is unusual, usually I make my cookies large and end up with way less then the recipe said it would make)! They are delicious – great mix of spices in this one – they are warm, soft, crunchy, chewy, spicy and delicious with a big glass of milk to wash them down!
Quick 1 Bowl cookie with great flavor. We made a 1/2 recipe and baked it in a counter top oven. I did switch up the shortening and the butter since I only had regular shortening and had to add a 1/4 more flour because dough was way too soft. Next time I may do all butter and chill the dough for 30 minutes. 9 minute baking time was exactly perfect in my oven.
The taste was good but there is too much shortening in this recipe
I rolled these little babies in raw sugar before baking them for 9 minutes. They are soft in the center and crisp on the outside because of the sugar – just right! The cayenne is such a nice addition to these delicious gingerbread cookies! Try them!
Followed this recipe to the letter and wouldn’t change a thing. Don’t be afraid of that little bit of cayenne, it really won’t smack you in the face. It gives you a hint of spiciness without overwhelming, and it’s an important ingredient to what makes this cookie special. I rolled the cookie dough balls in Turbinado sugar, and the cookies’ texture was just about perfect. The only thing that I did differently was to bake for 11 minutes instead of 9. Thanks, Anisa, for sharing your unique and delicious cookie recipe.