Crisp at the edges and chewy orange-gingerbread cookies with orange extract and white pepper. These store and ship well, so they’re perfect for gifting!
Sometimes I really want gingerbread but I don’t feel like roll-out cookies or cake. I was pondering this (super serious) problem and decided to try adapting my classic chewy molasses cookies. After all, they both have ginger, molasses, cinnamon and cloves. In fact the only big difference is the nutmeg. I also use orange extract and white pepper in my gingerbread, so I threw that in there too. The result are these chewy orange gingerbread cookies and they are THE BOMB.
Use a Cookie Scoop for Uniform and Evenly-Baked Cookies
Because I use my handy dandy cookie scoop, these chewy orange gingerbread cookies come out completely round and uniform, thus fulfilling my need to make everything annoyingly perfect. I have done an embarrassing amount of research on cookie scoops (quality, volume, gauge) and have found that this Zeroll EZ Disher in Size 50 is the way to go. It makes perfectly sized cookies. Unlike some other cookie scoops I’ve bought in the past, it doesn’t break after a few uses. It holds about 1.3 tablespoons of dough, so if you don’t have a scoop and want to measure it out, one tablespoon+one teaspoon of dough (or 23 grams if you have a digital scale) will do it. Or you can just eyeball it, they’ll pretty much taste and look amazing no matter what.
Some Tips For Perfect Orange Gingerbread Cookies:
- Do let this chill at least a couple of hours, preferably overnight. If the dough is too warm the cookies will get too flat and brown unevenly.
- Use a cookie scoop if you have it. Precision amounts of dough make the cookies bake evenly, and the scoop makes that precision easy-peasy. You can use any #50 cookie scoop, I’ve got details of how to choose the right size cookie scoop and which brand to buy here.
- The tops should be cracked when you take them out of the oven, but the spaces between the cracks should still look moist.
More Foolproof Cookies From Bakers Brigade:
- Chewy Chocolate Espresso Cookies
- Malted Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
- Orange Cardamom Snowflake Cookies
- Chewy Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies
- Buttery Roll Out Sugar Cookies
And everything you ever wanted to know about cookie scoops:
| Servings |
cookies
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- 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter melted and cooled slightly
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup molasses I like Brer Rabbit mild flavor
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon orange extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/8-1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar for rolling
Ingredients
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- In a medium bowl, mix together the melted butter, 1 cup sugar, and egg until smooth. Stir in the molasses and extracts. Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg and white pepper in another medium bowl. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and blend with a fork or wooden spoon. Cover, and chill dough overnight or for at least 2 hours.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Roll a generous tablespoon of dough into balls (a #50 cookie scoop is great for this), and roll them in the remaining white sugar. Place cookies 2 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheets.
- Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until tops are cracked but the centers still look moist. Cool on wire racks.
- If you want a slightly more substantial cookie, use a #30 cookie scoop, 2 tablespoons dough, for each cookie. You will need to add a minute or two to the bake time and the batch will make about 20 cookies instead of 36.
Can orange zest be added to the batter?