Molasses Ginger Cookies - GF

Every Christmas, I look forward to making Molasses Ginger Cookies, but now that I've gone completely Gluten Free, I haven't found a recipe I loved until this year!  It's from Bob's Red Mill and uses their Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour, which already has Xanthum gum in it.  If you want to make these cookies with other Gluten Free flours, check to make sure that ingredient is in there. And, of course I had to tweak the recipe by adding in Candied Ginger and fresh Ginger Juice to up the flavor and also a little bit of Nutmeg. They were wonderful! I only made a half batch (that's the recipe below) to test them and now I'm making another full batch because they were so good. They reminded me a bit of the GF Ginger Cookies from Trader Joe's, but they were softer and chewier. I'm so happy that I finally found a recipe that works for my favorite Christmas cookies! If I find anymore, I will be sure to post those too.

Molasses Ginger Cookies – GF adapted from Bob's Red Mill

6 Tablespoons Butter softened

¼  cup Sugar + additional ¼ cup for rolling the cookies

¼ cup Brown Sugar

¼ cup Molasses

1 Egg

1 teaspoon ground Ginger

1/2 teaspoon fresh grated Ginger (optional)

1 teaspoon ground Cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground Cloves

1/8 teaspoon of Nutmeg

¼ teaspoon Salt

¾ teaspoon of Baking Soda

1 ¼ cup Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten Free Baking Flour

½ cup Candied Ginger, cut into small pieces

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In the mixing bowl of a stand mixer, cream together ¼ of White Sugar and all of the Brown Sugar and the Butter. Add in the Molasses and the Eggs and mix thoroughly- the mixture will look curdled.  Add in the Spices and Ginger Juice, Salt, Baking Soda and Flour, Mix until well combined and add the Candied Ginger.  The dough will be soft and wet.  Roll spoonfuls of the dough into 1” balls and roll in the additional sugar. Place on a parchment covered baking sheet 3-4 inches apart. Cook for 15 minutes or until the cookies are set at the edges, but still slightly soft and puffy in the center. Cool slightly and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining cookies. Store in an airtight container. 

Five Element Analysis

Cookies always belong to the Earth Element because they are so sweet and this is no exception. The ingredients in the 1-to-1 Baking Flour add in more Earth from the Potato Starch and the Tapioca Starch, but it also brings in some of the Metal Element from the Rice Flour.  he Spices and Butter contribute more of the Metal Element and the Molasses and Egg contribute the Water Element. By the way, Molasses helps build blood so you can say these cookies are somewhat healthy! Anyway, these cookies are perfect with a cup of Tea or Coffee, which would add the Fire Element. Only the Wood Element is missing, so be sure to add a food from that element some other time in the day to create a balance. I'm personally going to make some GF Lemon Bars to get some of the Wood Element on my Cookie Plate!