Chewy ginger molasses sourdough cookies have a mix of sweet molasses and warm ginger, giving them a delicious sweet and spicy taste. With a slightly crispy edge and a chewy center, these are one of our favorite cookies that are easy to whip up and use up some sourdough discard.

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You know what really tastes like Christmas? These chewy molasses ginger sourdough cookies. They have a mix of sweet molasses and warm ginger, giving them the perfect balance of sweet and just a little spicy. I love that these cookies have a slightly crispy edge but a chewy center. Easy to whip up and perfect for the holidays, or any days. Don’t wait – add molasses ginger sourdough cookies to your baking list now!

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Some Important Ingredients in Chewy Ginger Molasses Sourdough Cookies

Molasses: Regular light molasses makes these cookies chewy and flavorful. If you want a deeper/darker and more bitter molasses flavor, you can use blackstrap molasses.

Ground Ginger: I use ground ginger in this recipe that packs the delicious ginger flavor these cookies are known for.

Sourdough Discard: In order to avoid a stronger sourdough flavor, use sourdough discard that is fresh or no more than a day or two old. I always use 100% hydration sourdough discard. If your discard is very runny, you may need a little extra flour in this recipe.

Unsalted Butter: I bake a lot of cookies and always use unsalted butter. You can control the flavor much better when you use unsalted butter. Salt content varies between brands of salted butter and your baked goods may come out too salty using salted butter. If you choose to use salted butter, decrease the salt a little bit in the recipe. Use softened butter for best results.

Granulated Sugar: Granulated sugar is used to sweeten the cookies, also the cookie dough is rolled in granulated sugar before being baked.

All-Purpose Flour: These cookies are perfect with all-purpose flour. Use flour with an 11.5% protein content, not bread flour.

Mixing Up Molasses Ginger Sourdough Cookies

Use a stand mixer or hand mixer to whip up the room temperature butter. It should lighten a little in color as you mix. Add the granulated sugar to the butter and mix until fluffy. Crack the egg and add it to the mixture, whip until completely combined. The egg will help emulsify the butter/sugar mixture and turn it into a lightly colored whipped mixture. Scrape the sides of the bowl down as needed. Add the molasses and sourdough discard. Mix again until fluffy.

To a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger and cinnamon. Whisk together to combine.

Add the dry ingredients to the bowl of the stand mixer. Mix together until just combined.

Scooping Molasses Ginger Sourdough Cookie Dough

Pour some granulated sugar in a small bowl. Scoop the dough into small balls, about 2 Tablespoons each. Roll each cookie dough ball in the granulated sugar, and place dough balls onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, leaving some space between each cookie dough ball.

Convection Bake for Cookies

I use convection bake to bake almost all of my cookies. Convection bake is one of the secrets to a delicious crispy edge with a gooey or chewy middle. If you have the convection bake feature on your oven, use it! If you don’t have this feature, you have a couple of options:

You can increase the temperature by 25 degrees (400 degrees Fahrenheit for this recipe) and preheat your oven for 15-20 minutes to get it really hot before baking the cookies.
Bake the cookies at the convection temperature (375 degrees Fahrenheit for this recipe) and add some extra time to the bake, usually 2-3 minutes.

Whatever you do, the key to baking these cookies is to avoid over-baking them. Take the cookies out when they are still a little gooey in the center. They will keep cooking and set up to be nice and chewy as they cool.

Let Molasses Ginger Sourdough Cookies Cool

These cookies take a little time to set up fully on the baking sheet before you can dig into them. The cooling time is important because the middles may be just a tad gooey. This is good because it turns into a chewy middle as it finishes baking on the baking sheet. Let them cool most of the way and enjoy!

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Frequently Asked Questions

How do I store leftover cookies?

If you have extra cookies, let them cool completely. Then store cooled cookies in an airtight container in the freezer. Pull them out of the freezer a few hours before you want to enjoy them so they can thaw at room temperature. Enjoy!

Can I freeze the cookie dough?

Yes. This is a great cookie dough to freeze. Mix up the cookie dough. Scoop into balls and place the balls on a baking sheet. Don’t roll in granulated sugar yet. Freeze the dough balls on the cookie sheet. Once they have frozen completely, place cookie dough balls in an airtight container and freeze for 2-3 months. When ready to bake, bake from frozen or thaw in the refrigerator. Roll in granulated sugar. Add an extra minute or two to the bake time for the chilled dough.

Can these cookies undergo a long fermentation for more sourdough benefits and flavor?

Yes. Stick the dough in the refrigerator after mixing and let it sit in the refrigerator overnight or for up to a couple days. This extended fermentation time will give more of the health benefits of sourdough and will make the cookies have a more sour flavor.

My cookies baked up flat. Why?

They most likely didn’t have enough flour in them or your butter was melted. Add a little extra flour the next time you mix them up.

My cookies baked up too thick and crumbly. What happened?

The cookies probably had too much flour in them. Try reducing the amount of flour by a little bit.