¾cup(171g) unsalted buttersoftened to room temperature
1large eggat room temperature
¼cupmolasses
sugar1 for coating
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350ºF (177ºC). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Set aside.
In a medium size bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt until combined. Set aside.
In a large bowl with a handheld mixer or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and black pepper on medium-high speed until mixture is light and fluffy. Stop the mixer, use a spatula to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl, and blend a few more times to ensure all of the spices are incorporated.
Add the egg and the molasses and continue to beat the mixture on medium speed until everything is incorporated.
With the mixer still on medium speed, slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined.
Pour sugar of choice into a medium size bowl. Then, using a cookie scoop (I use this #50 cookie scoop for all of my standard size cookies), drop balls of dough into the sugar and use your fingers to roll the dough all around to coat the cookie dough entirely in sugar. Place on the prepared baking sheet and bake 8-10 minutes2 or until edges just look set. Do not overbake these cookies! They will look underdone when you remove them from the oven. Allow to rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack to cool completely. Store leftovers covered tightly at room temperature for up to 5 days. Cookies freeze well, up to 3 months. Unbaked cookie dough balls freeze well, up to 3 months. Do not roll in sugar, allow to thaw in the refrigerator, then roll in sugar and bake as directed.
Notes
Sugar for coating: I really like the contrast of coarse sugar with the soft cookie, but you can use granulated, granulated + spices, or any kind of sanding sugar of any size. I used pure cane/turbinado sugar.
Bake time: there is a fine line between soft and chewy and "just starting to get crispy" here. The sweet spot for my oven was 9 minutes, and the ones baked for 10 minutes were a little more crisp on the edges.
All nutritional values are approximate and provided to the reader as a courtesy. Changing ingredients and/or quantities will alter the estimated nutritional calculations.