Whenever I have fresh ginger and molasses on hand, these cookies are on the menu. They are so chewy and sweet with a hint of spice from the fresh ginger, too good! The amount of cookies you can get out of this recipe can range, depending on the size of your cookies. I like my cookies to be small. Maybe a 2 biter. Possibly one if no one is watching, so I get about 25 or so. One thing to keep in mind is this dough does need to be refrigerated, so these are perfect for when you want to prep ahead. You can mix the dough at night and make them the next day. They will be well worth the wait time and the effort that goes into assembling them.

By the way, these cookies are great without the filling.

You could also skip the sugar/cinnamon coating, but it just looks so pretty! I really does taste just as great without it though and sometimes if I am tight on time, I will leave it out.

Enjoy!

Ginger Molasses Sandwich Cookies

Author Sister Michelle

Ingredients

8 tablespoons butter 1 stick, softened
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup sugar
1 egg
⅓ cup molasses
1 tablespoon honey
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1-1/2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger root
2-1/4 cups all purpose flour
1½ teaspoons baking soda
1-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
½ teaspoon powdered ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
⅛ teaspoon ground pepper trust me

Cookie Coating

1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ cup sugar

Filling

1 cup cream cheese at room temperature
½ cup powdered sugar
½ tablespoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Using a stand mixer, mix the butter, brown sugar, and sugar at medium speed until creamy.
Add the egg, molasses, honey, vanilla extract and freshly grated ginger root and continue to mix until smooth. Scrape down the bowl and mix for 1 minute at medium speed.
In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, powdered ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and pepper. Add the dry ingredients to the butter-molasses mixture and mix well, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula.
Refrigerate dough for 1 hour. Overnight works too!
Scoop the cookies into 1-inch balls with a small ice cream scoop, cookie scoop or spoon. You can also chill these until ready to bake at this point.
When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F.
In a small bowl, combine cinnamon and sugar until well mixed. Remove cookie dough from refrigerator and roll the balls in cinnamon sugar, place onto a baking sheet lines with parchment or a baking mat. Bake until just barely done, about 7 to 8 minutes. They will be slightly cracked on top. If you made your cookies larger, just add a bit more time.
For the filling, mix cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla until smooth. Set aside.
When the cookies are cool, turn half of the cookies upside down. Place a large dot of filling at the center of each cookie. Place the other half of the cookies on top.
Note: If you eat things right away, they will be hard to bite into, but if you give them a good 20-30 minutes, they soften and the texture is just perfect!
Enjoy!