This is one of those recipes that I have been saving for a special occasion. Christmas seems as good a time as any for revealing the recipe for the BEST. COOKIES. IN. THE. WORLD.
(In my humble opinion).
OK so these cookies. The thing that makes them the best cookies in the world? They are made with fresh ginger. Which, when paired with rich molasses and sweet dates, produces the most awesome sweet and spicy and chewy treat ever. The PERFECT morsel for an after-dinner treat.
I may or may not have consumed seven of these today. Oops. I need to exercise more self control. Or leave my house and run far far away and never look back. One of those two things.
Actually, I don’t feel THAT bad about eating seven, because these are healthier than most cookies. They are made with whole wheat flour, and half the amount of sugar than your average cookie. Yet, they are still delightfully sweet because of the natural sugars in the dates, fresh ginger, and molasses (without being TOO sweet). Not to mention, ginger is really (REALLY!) good for you. These ain’t no salad, but as far as cookies go… pretty healthy!
Also, they are sparkly. Because you roll them in turbinado sugar before baking them. Which gives them an awesome crunchy and sweet outer layer to compliment the spicy, chewy, melt-in-your-mouth inside and makes them a beautiful treat to bring to a Christmas party or give as a gift. What’s Christmas without sparkles?
If you can’t find dates, I’ve made these with other dried fruits before (apricots, figs, and a combination of both). You can use another kind of dried fruit if you want (I bet golden raisins would be delicious!), or you can omit them. OR, you can add pieces of chocolate! These cookies are flexible… as long as you have the base dough, try mixing in other fun ingredients. You can’t go wrong.
Make too many? Sugared out after all the sweets of the holidays? Freeze the extra and enjoy individually for a bite-sized after dinner sweet treat.
And without further delay, I present to you, the recipe for the BEST. COOKIES. IN. THE. WORLD! Enjoy, and merry Christmas, everyone! I hope you have a restful week full of family, fun, food, and sparkles :-)
Other cookie recipes
- Salted almond chocolate chunk cookies
- Orange chai cookies
- Norwegian Butter Cookies
- Maple Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Spicy Ginger Date Cookies
Equipment
- Parchment Paper
- small cookie scoop
Ingredients
- 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour spelt flour can also be used
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- 1/2 cup butter (one stick)
- 1/2 cup dark molasses
- 2 tablespoons fresh ginger minced (from about 2")
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 egg beaten
- 1 cup dried dates pitted and chopped
- 1/2 cup turbinado sugar for rolling
Instructions
- Mix together the whole wheat flour (2 cups), baking soda (1/2 teaspoon), kosher salt (1/2 teaspoon), and ground ginger (1 tablespoon) in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- In a medium saucepan, melt together butter (1/2 cup), molasses (1/2 cup), sugar (1/2 cup), and fresh ginger (2 tablespoons). Allow to cool for a bit, and whisk in the egg. Stir in the dates (1 cup).
- Add butter mixture to flour mixture, stirring to just combine.
- Refrigerate dough for at least 30 minutes.
- When ready to bake, line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Put the turbinado sugar (1/2 cup) in a small bowl.
- Using a small kitchen scoop or spoon, get small portions of the dough and roll into no bigger than 1-inch balls.
- Coat each ball in turbinado sugar and place on prepared baking sheet.
- Bake each batch for 7-9 minutes. Allow to cool on a cooling rack.
Notes
- The provided nutrition information does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. Feel free to calculate it yourself using this calculator or by adding the recipe to Yummly.
Dan
Very much liked the crunchy exterior and general texture. I would reduce the amount of molasses and increase the dates and ginger.
Elizabeth Lindemann
Thanks for the feedback- would love to know how they come out with these different amounts, if you try it!
Disha
Can I leave out the egg from the recipe?
Elizabeth Lindemann
Hm, I’ve never tried it, and the egg helps bind everything together. You may want to try a “vegan” egg- such as a chia or flax egg (chia or flax seeds mixed with water to create an egg-like binder). Here’s more on that. If you try it and it works, I’d love to know so I can add a recipe note for the egg-free readers! https://minimalistbaker.com/how-to-make-a-flax-egg/
Ingrid
Made these and they were a hit. I added in addition some chopped up crystallised ginger as well. Thanks for the recipe! As a tip when rolling, and I do this for any mix like rum balls, cake pops etc, wear disposable gloves and the mix doesn’t stick to your hands, bonus of clean hands and importantly no wastage of the yummy mix
Elizabeth Lindemann
LOVE that tip about disposable loves! Definitely trying that next time. So glad you liked it!
Julia
Thanks for your quick reply -I figured it was 2 cups so went ahead with that – oven is heating up now – they smell delicious! Thanks for the recipe :)
Julia
Hi, just want to clarify how much flour. In the ingredient list it says 2 cups but the instructions refer to only 1 cup of flour. Thanks!
Elizabeth Lindemann
Gah! Thanks so much for catching that. It’s 2 cups :-) I’ve been going back through my old recipes and adding the ingredient amounts in the directions so people don’t have to scroll up and down so much… but that also opens the door up for more mistakes! It’s fixed now. Thanks again, and if you make these cookies, I hope you like them!
Kalene
Do you mean 1/2 stick butter AND one cup butter? Or did you just mean 1/2 stick of butter? Also did you mean one cup chopped date’s or one cup of dates full sized and then chop them up? This was confusing to me and I think I might have put the wrong measurements. Please let me know so I can make these right. Thanks!
Elizabeth Lindemann
Good questions! You need one stick of butter, which is the same as 1/2 cup (I’ll fix the recipe wording now- I’ve been finding a few errors lately after changing some things around, so thanks for putting this on my radar!). As for the dates, either will work honestly, but I’d chop them up and then measure them, to get more :-) Hope that helps, I’ll adjust the recipe card!
eve
if you put the mixture in the fridge overnight would that be ok?
Elizabeth Lindemann
I think so! It might be a little harder to scoop but just put some muscle into it (or use a good cookie scoop) :-)
emma roberts
Fantastic, loved them. Thank you for the recipe x
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked them! :-)
Jen
These are legit the best cookies ever!! So gooey/chewy with a crispy exterior. Thanks for this keeper of a recipe!
Elizabeth
Thanks Jen! I totally agree- they are my FAVORITE! Glad you liked them :-)
Kathi G
I made a quarter batch (portion control for me) and good thing!! We ate them all while they were still warm. Nice and spicy with the fresh ginger. I used medjool dates ( they’re the best). I used regular wheat flour- I don’t know if pastry flour is different. Mine did not spread at all- they stayed in a ball. Had to increase the baking time a few minutes. LOVED these… spicy ginger cookies are my favorite.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked them!
Kerry cooper
Hi there, these felt too soggy to come out at 7 mins so I left them in for another 5! They then came out more like a gingernut biscuit with a crunchy outer and soft middle! Will have a go again xxx tastes amazing tho
Elizabeth
So glad you liked them, and thanks for the tip on leaving them in for a little longer!
Annemarie
Whoops – yes I can read- but only sometimes apparently!! Spelt flour is okay so it says in very first ingredient. And I know the truvia will sub in fine following package amount exchange for regular sugar. I’ll still use the turbino for the coati g though for that nice crunch. I’m set to bake today. I’ll let you know how they come out.
Elizabeth
Haha no worries! Looks like you have it all figured out- hope you like the recipe :-) Would love to hear how it comes out!
Annemarie
Can I sub spelt flour for the whole wheat and truvia for the sugar? Spelt has a nice nutty flavor and I’ve come to like it better than the stronger tasting white whole wheat. And I only have baking truvia sugar on hand – tastes just like sugar to me but it’s healthier they say. Thanks. Great recipe to make today!
Margo Haynes
I’m diabetic and cannot use natural cane sugar, would it affect taste in a negative way to use Splenda’s light brown
sugar mix that is half and half?
Elizabeth
I’m sure you could use that as a substitution! Artificial sugar always tastes different than regular to me, but I’d definitely still give it a shot. Dates have a lot of natural sugars in them and also molasses so make sure those ingredients are ok for you to use as well!
Barbara Manning
Thanks, Elizabeth.
I actually have some black strap molasses, and now I know where to use it!
I used in in a gingerbread I made, but it was just too strong a flavor — and made the bread look like a black brick. Not a success story at all. I want to use it up, and this looks like the perfect recipe for it!
Elizabeth
I love finding ways to use things up in my pantry. Hope you like the recipe! :-)
Monica
Hi can I use gluten free flours or coconut flour in these and would you know how much?
Thanking you Monica
Elizabeth
I’ve never tried either before, but I think you can sub regular gluten free flour for the same amount. As for the coconut flour… my experience with it is that the texture and the way it works is completely different from wheat flour. If you try it in this recipe, I’d love to know how it comes out! But if you don’t want to risk it, here’s a yummy looking Paleo ginger molasses cookie that uses coconut flour: http://www.paleorunningmomma.com/soft-paleo-ginger-molasses-cookies-paleo/
Ash
These were really beautiful thanks for a great recipe
Elizabeth
Thanks, and you’re welcome!
Victor Johnson
Spicy ginger cookies! My mom will love these! Thanks for this recipe. When she sees it in her inbox, she’s going to flip!
Fire Fly
Could AP flour be used in these? If so, are there any adjustments to be made? They are right up my alley but I don’t care for whole wheat flour and also only have AP flour on hand.
Elizabeth
You can definitely use all purpose flour! No adjustments necessary.
Fire Fly
Thank you for your prompt reply :)