Pearl Sugar Ginger Cookies
Pearl sugar saves the day again with these beautiful, polka-dotted ginger cookies, which come to us from Brian Hart Hoffman, the founder and editor-in-chief of Bake from Scratch magazine. Acting as gorgeous decoration and a protective crunchy layer, pearl sugar helps ensure the cookies arrive to your far-flung loved ones in serious style. The molasses also helps the cookies stay fresher for longer, as the hygroscopic sugar keeps them moist. And if you’re invited to a holiday cookie exchange, these are the perfect ones to bring. Kids will love to lend a hand when you’re preparing these sweet treats—they can help scoop out the dough and roll the dough balls in the pearl sugar.
Ingredients:
- 8 Tbs. (1 stick) (113 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup (150 g) granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup (55 g) firmly packed light brown sugar
- 1 tsp. lemon zest
- 1/3 cup (113 g) molasses (not blackstrap)
- 1 egg, at room temperature
- 2 1/4 cups (281 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp. ground ginger
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. kosher salt
- 3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. ground cardamom
- 1/2 tsp. ground cloves
- 1/2 cup (104 g) Swedish pearl sugar
Directions:
Preheat an oven to 350°F (180°C). Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater, beat together the butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and lemon zest on medium speed until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes, stopping the mixer to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the molasses and egg and beat until well combined, stopping the mixer to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, ginger, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cardamom and cloves. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture all at once and beat on low speed until combined, stopping the mixer to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Place the pearl sugar in a small shallow bowl.
Using a 1 1/2-tablespoon spring-loaded scoop, scoop out the dough (about 30 g each) and roll into balls. Roll the dough balls in the pearl sugar (see Note below) and place 1 3/4 to 2 inches (4.5 to 5 cm) apart on the prepared pans.
Bake, one batch at a time, until the cookies appear cracked and the edges are just set but the centers look slightly underdone, about 10 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the pan for 4 minutes, then transfer the cookies to wire racks and let cool completely. Repeat to bake the remaining cookies. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week. Makes about 24 cookies.
Note: If the pearl sugar isn’t sticking as well, lightly dampen your hands with water before rolling the dough into balls and coating in the sugar.
Recipe courtesy of Brian Hart Hoffman, founder and editor-in-chief of Bake from Scratch
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