These easy spice cookies are chewy on the inside and crunchy on the outside. They have the flavor of gingerbread but with the texture of a chewy sugar cookie.
Pre-heat oven to 375°F and line baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk together flour, spices, baking soda in a medium bowl and set aside.
Cream butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar in a large bowl using your stand mixer or an electric hand mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, approximately 5 minutes.
Beat in the egg yolk and vanilla until well combined. Beat in molasses until completely incorporated.
Slowly add flour mixture until combined, mixing on low.
Refrigerate dough for at least an hour. They were best after a 24 hour stint in the refrigerator.
Roll 2 tablespoons of dough into balls and gently roll in the turbinado sugar. Place on cookie sheet 2 inches apart. In the case of these cookies, bigger is not better. They didn’t crack as nicely and they spread out and looked ugly.
Bake at 375°F for 8-11 minutes or until the tops crack and the centers still look under baked. Do not be tempted to leave them in the oven until the centers set unless you want gingersnaps.
Notes
Yield – 36 cookiesPresentation – Rolling in turbinado or sanding sugar is optional, but adds a wonderful sparkle and a nice crunch.Flavor Tips – Chilling the dough is optional for texture but chilling overnight does allow the flavors to meld.Storage – Store spice cookies in a sealed container at room temperature for up to a week. They do begin to lose their freshness after about 5.Recipe adapted from America’s Test Kitchen.