Soft Sourdough Discard Ginger Cookies with Molasses
Soft sourdough discard ginger cookies are the perfect treat for a cold winter day. Made with warm spices, indulgent blackstrap molasses and rolled in white sugar, these delicious cookies are perfect for gifting!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe:
These sourdough cookies are very easy to make. Unlike many sourdough recipes, they can be made the same day. You can make them with either sourdough discard or active fed starter. Much to every sourdough bakers delight, this recipe is a great way to use up leftover sourdough starter.
The cookies can be made within a couple hours of mixing up the dough or long fermented for the maximum benefits of fermenting sourdough.
Adding sourdough discard to these cookies gives them a nice hint of sourdough “tang” that balances the sweetness of the cookies for a delightful treat to enjoy this holiday season. These ginger cookies are soft and chewy unlike their crunchier cousin: ginger snaps. Don’t let that fool you though–these sourdough cookies are just as easily decorated and perfect for gifting.
Blackstrap molasses is used to provide a depth of flavor unmatched by regular molasses. Don’t skimp here! Unsulfured blackstrap molasses is crucial to the flavor of these classic cookies. This recipe also calls for dark brown sugar (which is also made from molasses) if you don’t have dark brown sugar, add another teaspoon of blackstrap molasses to light brown sugar for a similar effect.
They Are the Perfect Cookie for Gifting:
These soft and chewy cookies are festive enough to gift in a treat box with a printable gift tag–no cookie decorating skills needed! However, if you do decide to decorate your cookies, I recommend dipping the ginger cookies part way in decadent white chocolate to add a nice complimentary flavor and elevate the look of the cookies.
Simplify gift giving this Christmas season! Baked goods are the perfect gift for those on your list that you don’t know what to buy for! For an easy gift idea, create a simple cookie sampler box with a few different flavored cookies. Include a few each of soft sourdough ginger cookies, sourdough chocolate chip cookies, and chocolate no bake cookies.
Grab my free printable gift tag here.
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What You Need to Make Them:
- stand mixer with whisk attachment or a hand mixer
- baking tray
- parchment paper
- Plastic wrap or airtight container
- large cookie scoop (optional)
Ingredients:
All Purpose Flour
Baking Soda
Salt
Ground Ginger
Cinnamon
Pumpkin Pie Spice*
White Sugar
Dark Brown Sugar
Salted Butter (room temperature)
Blackstrap Molasses
Vanilla
Large Egg
100% Hydration Starter (active starter or discard)
Optional:
11 oz bag of white chocolate chips (to melt and dip baked cookies into)
How to Make Soft Sourdough Discard Ginger Cookies:
Mix Dry Ingredients:
Whisk together flour, salt, spices, and baking soda in a separate bowl.
Mix Wet Ingredients:
In the bowl of a stand mixer cream butter, white sugar and dark brown sugar together.
Next add the blackstrap molasses, vanilla, sourdough starter and egg to the sugar mixture and mix to incorporate.
Combine Dry Ingredients and Wet Ingredients:
Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing until just incorporated.
Chill the Dough:
Chilled cookie dough can be tricky to scoop, so I prefer to pre-scoop my unbaked cookie dough onto a baking tray before chilling the dough. If you do not have enough available space in the refrigerator, cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap or store the dough in an air tight container.
Using a large cookie scoop (or a spoon) scoop dough and place each cookie dough ball 3 inches apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least two hours or even longer for a longer sourdough ferment. Unbaked cookie dough can be made ahead and stored in the fridge for several days before baking.
Roll the Unbaked Cookie Dough in Sugar:
Once the dough has chilled, scoop cookies into dough balls if needed. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
In a separate bowl, measure out 1/2 cup of white sugar.
Roll each dough ball in white sugar to coat. Place on the baking tray, spacing apart evenly to fit about 12 cookies per tray.
Work quickly to ensure the dough stays chilled. Place back in the refrigerator if needed to firm back up.
Roll the dough in a bowl of white sugar until completely coated.
Bake the Soft Sourdough Discard Ginger Cookies:
Bake the cookies at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Cookies will continue to spread out and set up, so allow them to cool for at least 10 minutes on the baking tray before moving to a wire rack to cool completely.
Once cookies are cool and set, decorate or serve them plain.
Decorating Soft Ginger Cookies with White Chocolate:
There are many ways to decorate these soft and chewy ginger cookies. My personal favorite is to dip half of each cookie in white chocolate.
Warm one bag of white chocolate chips in the microwave in 30 second intervals stirring frequently until melted and smooth. Dip half of each cookie into the white chocolate and allow to drip dry on a wire rack.
Optional: Sprinkle each cookie with edible white glitter over the side dipped with white chocolate before the chocolate sets up to look like snow.
Other Ways to Decorate Ginger Cookies:
Decorate with royal icing to create different patterns.
Sprinkle with powdered sugar for a “snow” like effect.
Freezing Soft Sourdough Discard Ginger Cookies with Molasses:
This cookie recipe freezes very well, making it the perfect recipe to make ahead of time and freeze to make gift giving and parties a breeze! After you have mixed the dough, you can shape the dough into a log and wrap in parchment paper and then place in a freezer bag. Alternatively, shape cookies first and then flash freeze. Place the frozen rolled cookie dough in freezer bags and store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Free Printable Gift Tag:
Enter your email below and get my free printable gift tag sent straight to your inbox!
For an easy gift idea:
Print and cut out the gift tags. Attach the tags with some twine or a ribbon to cookie boxes. Fill the cookie boxes with ginger cookies and you have the perfect gift for teachers, neighbors, family and friends!
Need more gift ideas? Try my Christmas Simmer Pot which also comes with free gift tags!
Printable Recipe Card:
Soft Sourdough Discard Ginger Cookies with Molasses
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1/3 cup blackstrap molasses
- 1.5 sticks of butter softened 12 tablespoons
- 1/2 cup of sourdough starter at 100% hydration fed a 1:1 ratio
- Optional:
- 1 bag of white chocolate chips for dipping baked cookies in
Instructions
Mix Dry Ingredients:
- Whisk together flour, salt, spices, and baking soda in a separate bowl.
Mix Wet Ingredients:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer cream butter, white sugar and dark brown sugar.
- Next add the blackstrap molasses, vanilla, sourdough starter and egg to the sugar mixture and mix to incorporate.
Combine Dry Ingredients and Wet Ingredients:
- Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing until just incorporated.
Chill the Dough:
- Chilled cookie dough can be tricky to scoop, so I prefer to pre-scoop my unbaked cookie dough onto a baking tray before chilling the dough. If you do not have enough available space in the refrigerator, cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap or store the dough in an air tight container.
- Using a large cookie scoop (or a spoon) scoop dough and place each cookie dough ball 3 inches apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least one hour, but preferably two. Unbaked cookie dough can be made ahead and stored in the fridge for several days before baking.
Roll the Unbaked Cookie Dough in Sugar:
- Once the dough has chilled, scoop cookies into dough balls if needed. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- In a separate bowl, measure out 1/2 cup of white sugar.
- Roll each dough ball in white sugar to coat. Place on the baking tray, spacing apart evenly to fit about 12 cookies per tray.
- Work quickly to ensure the dough stays chilled. Place back in the refrigerator if needed to firm back up.
-
Bake the Soft Sourdough Discard Ginger Cookies:
Bake the cookies at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Cookies will continue to spread out and set up, so allow them to cool for at least 10 minutes on the baking tray before moving to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Once cookies are cool and set, decorate or serve them plain.
-
Decorating Soft Ginger Cookies with White Chocolate:
- There are many ways to decorate these soft and chewy ginger cookies. My personal favorite is to dip half of each cookie in white chocolate.
- Warm one bag of white chocolate chips in the microwave in 30 second intervals stirring frequently until melted and smooth. Dip half of each cookie into the white chocolate and allow to drip dry on a wire rack.
- Optional: Sprinkle each cookie with edible white glitter over the side dipped with white chocolate before the chocolate sets up
- to look like snow.
Notes
Other Fall and Winter Recipes You May Enjoy:
Old Fashioned Chocolate Fudge Pie
Thanksgiving Better Than Stove Top Dressing Muffins
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