THE FOOD ÉTUDE

At its heart, this recipe is a mash-up of Bobby Flay’s Throwdown Gingerbread Cookies and America’s Test Kitchen Molasses Cookies. Credit to Bobby for the mustard powder and white pepper combination, I only played with flour weight, spice quantity, and added baking spice to the mix. Working toward a cookie that didn’t need to be rolled out, cut, and decorated led me to the ATK molasses cookie. From there, I aligned the flour weight with King Arthur, added a little more salt, and some light corn syrup to replace a portion of the molasses quantity. Clear imitation vanilla is a bonus if you have it and completely stolen from many a Milk Bar recipe. All credit to Bobby, Tosi, and ATK. If these come out well for you, then we are all standing on the shoulders of giants here. These are my ideal gingerbread cookies!

Yield: 24 Cookies

Ingredients
2 ¼ cups AP flour (270g)
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger
⅔ teaspoon white pepper
⅔ teaspoon mustard powder
½ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon baking spice (from Penzey’s Spices)
½ teaspoon salt
⅓ cup granulated sugar (66g), plus ¼ cup for rolling (50g)
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1½ sticks) softened
⅓ cup dark brown sugar (71g)
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (Bonus: McCormick Imitation Clear Vanilla Extract)
⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon light or dark molasses (135g)
2 tablespoons Karo light corn syrup (30mL)

Equipment
Parchment paper
Cookie sheets (2)

Method

Preheat the oven to 375F (190C). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Prepare a shallow bowl with ¼ cup of sugar for rolling.

Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, white pepper, mustard powder, cloves, baking spice, and salt together in a bowl. Set aside.

With a stand mixer or hand mixer, beat together butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar on medium-high speed  until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

Scrape sides of bowl with spatula and add egg yolk and vanilla. Mix briefly until incorporated.

Scrape sides of bowl again, and add molasses and corn syrup. Mix only until incorporated.

Add flour mixture and beat on the lowest setting for about 30 seconds. Just before everything comes together, switch to a spatula and mix together by hand. Make sure there aren’t any dry bits left at the bottom of the bowl. The dough will be very soft and sticky.

Portion the dough into 1½  tablespoon balls. You can simply use a heaping tablespoon or a #40 (1½ tablespoon) portioner to measure. Oxo’s medium cookie scoop is a #40 portioner. Gently roll each ball in the reserved sugar. Place them on the baking sheet at least two inches apart. Bake one sheet at a time (this is key for chewy cookie success!) for 11 minutes, rotating halfway through. The cookies will puff up and then crack. They’ll still look a little underdone at 11 minutes, but this is correct.

Allow the cookies to rest on the baking sheet for a few minutes before removing them to a wire rack. These will last for 5-7 days at room temperature in an air-tight container, but they also freeze very well.

Notes: My preferred method for measuring ingredients is by weight. Some flours may vary quite a bit, so make sure to weigh your flour if you have a scale available. The baking spice referenced in the recipe is a blend from Penzey’s Spices. It’s a nice blend that gets a lot of use in our house. It’s great to have around, not just for cookies, but also for oatmeal or pancakes. I use McCormick’s clear imitation vanilla, but there are many different brands available. Regular vanilla extract will work just as well.