We have my friend Leanne of the Apple Bundt Cake to thank for this recipe. It’s adapted from Laurel Kreuger’s recipe that won first prize in a baking contest held by Canadian Living Magazine in 1991.
For ginger lovers everywhere! I took them to a cookie exchange on the weekend, and they were a big hit.
Gather the ingredients
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- Add the butter and sugars to a mixing bowl
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- Cream the butter and sugars
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- Beat in the egg
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- Add the orange zest, molasses and fresh ginger
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- Beat again until well combined
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- Beat in the dry ingredients in two portions
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- Shape the 1″ balls with a piece of crystallized ginger in the centre
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- Bake until the edges are crispy
Spicy Orange Ginger Cookies
A luscious combination of crunchy edges and a moist, chewy centre, this delectable cookie melds the spices of ginger and cinnamon with orange zest.
- Total Time: 35
- Yield: 48 1x
Ingredients
Scale
- 170 g (6 oz or 1 1/2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
- 150 g (6 oz or 3/4 c) granulated sugar
- 50 g (2 oz or 1/4 c) brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 80 g (2 oz or 1/4 c) molasses
- 4 tsp grated orange zest (rind from one large orange)
- 12 g (15 ml or 1 tbsp) grated gingerroot
- 240 g (16 oz or 2 c) all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp cloves
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 55 g (2 oz or 1/4 c) crystallized ginger, roughly chopped
Instructions
- Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 350 F.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter with the sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg. Add the molasses, orange zest and gingerroot and mix until combined.
- In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt and spices. Add to the butter mixture in two portions, beating well and scraping down the bowl and paddle after each addition.
- Cover the dough and chill for 30 minutes or until firm.
- Shape into 1″ balls with a small piece of candied ginger in the centre of each ball, placing them 2″ apart on baking sheets.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until edges are firm. Remove to cooling racks.
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 15
Sounds good as it has all the ingredients in it that I like.. will try if I have time!
The only fussy part is putting the crystallized ginger in the centre of the balls. I made the cookies a bit too big the first time – they spread out more than I anticipated. But they’re really good. The orange zest adds another layer of flavour. Enjoy your week, Maura!
GF flour work ok or could I substitute almond flour ?
I’ve not used either in the recipe, Glenda, but of the two, I’d probably go with gluten-free flour, which is designed to substitute for all-purpose flour. I think almond flour might give you a different texture.
did you try the GF flour?
Maybe add a little cardamom?
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By all means, if that’s your preference. I’m not a cardamom fan – it’s a matter of personal taste.
I made these with tapico flour ( gluten free) just had to add more flour than recipe very nice flavour.
I have the candied ginger, but no ginger root, can I use ground ginger instead and how much do you think I should use? I’m so looking forward to making and then eating these!!
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Hi Fay,
You won’t need much! Ground ginger is very concentrated relative to fresh ginger root. Just 1/4 tsp should do it.
I hope you enjoy the cookies.
These were a hit! I did roll the (ah-hem too large) balls in a mix of sugar and cinnamon. They didn’t last long….
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There is a mistake w the recipe. 480 g equals 16 oz equals two cups. (Not 32 oz)
Hi Marilyn,
I provide both weight and volume. The first measurement is weight in grams. The second, in brackets, is volume. I hope this helps.
I’m gonna try these!
Enjoy!
Perfect for an evening of baking. The longer the oven is warming the house the better also. Brrrrr cold outside. Many pipes surely have frozen. So far, we’re ok. Baking oatmeal coconut cookies. Will make these next!! Looking forward to plenty of tea time cookies.
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I hope you came through the cold snap ok! What a mess in Texas – yikes!!
What luck!! Ginger lemongrass silk tea bags in Tea Forte box I got over the holidays will be yummy with these cookies
Sounds yummy! Great combination.
M. Christie, just read your pleasurable remark about discovering the Lemongrass tea in your Christmas tea box and that you will certainly enjoy it with your orange ginger cookies. What a very nice picture you have created. Hope you enjoyed with friends at your side.
What oven temp are you baking these at? Thanks!
Hi Anne,
I’ve just updated the recipe. It’s 350 F. Thanks for asking!
Best,
Helen
Recipe says 350° for baking. Preheat and bake at 350°
I don’t have any candied ginger. Will that affect the taste of the cookies if I eliminate it? Thanks
You’ll miss the little “zing” of ginger from the chunks of candied ginger, but the cookies themselves should be great. 🙂
Can u skip adding candied ginger in the centre?
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Yes, you can skip the candied ginger. The cookies will still be wonderful. The candied ginger adds a little “zing” of surprise when you get to the centre.
These sound really good. But I am thinking the Molasses might be too strong and overtake the orange/ginger flavors. Can you substitute honey or agave?
Thanks
It’s entirely up to you. I find the molasses works, but everyone’s taste is different. Perhaps you might like to divide the recipe in half and use molasses in one half and the honey or agave in the other. Then you can compare!
I chopped the candied ginger and folded it in. Now there is a little zing of ginger in every bite!
Yum! What could be better than that?
This looks so good! What a great cookie to make with kids in the fall!
Thanks, Suzanne. Kids do love them!
Thanks for sharing! Does it keep long?
The cookies will stay fresh kept in a sealed container for a few days. They freeze beautifully, as well.
Have I missed where the ingredients amounts are listed?
Hang in, Jami. A WordPress update seems to have had a bad effect on the recipe widget. Will keep you posted. Abject apologies. Thanks for alerting us.
It’s fixed now, Jami. Thanks for your patience
My initial mix tend out more like little muffins. I decided to go for flatter crisps. Added another dose of molasses, another tablespoon of dried ginger and two able tablespoons of cayenne. I also added a tablespoon of lemon juice for some acidity. Now they are MY kinda spicy.
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I don’t have ( nor find) molasses;
can I substitute it with honey or something else?
( writing from remote Dolphin Quest – Costa Rica )
Blessings
Pura Vida
You can likely use another sweet syrup such as honey, but the flavour will not be the same.
Simple to make which is a plus. I didn’t think adding the ginger was that big of a deal and it adds a nice flavor.
My husband loved them!
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Fantastic!!! The fresh orange and ginger make them taste wonderful! Definitely a favorite recipe from now on!
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These cookies are very tasty but they come out flat as a pancake! I have tried a number of changes in the second batch (weighing the butter, getting fresh baking soda, using parchment instead of silicon mats and checking the oven temp) but no luck in not having very flat cookies. May have to abandon this recipe!
Carol, did you weigh the flour? Sounds like it might be a bit scant-this can lead to cookies being very flat.
Good luck!
Add two tsps. of baking soda., Don’t flatten the 1.” balls! 🙂
Wonderful Christmas sweet present!❤
With respect to originality,
Dr Ljubica Besker Ivasovic
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Thank you so much! I hope you enjoyed them.
Great flavor profile, however the ratio of dry and wet ingredients left these cookies flatter than anything I’ve ever made. I used weighted measurements, refrigerated the dough before scooping and again before baking. refrigerated. I will keep the grated orange, ginger and spices and use with another recipe.
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Your measurements are off. 16 ounces of flour is not two cups. 55 grams of candied ginger is not a quarter cup. I’m confused. Which are correct
Hi Lorraine,
I give measurements in both volume and weight. Two cups (8 fluid ounces) is 16 ounces, or 240 g.
I chopped and weighed the 1/4 c of candied ginger and it weighed 55 g.
Your scale may vary.
Best,
Helen
Hello!
I believe your ounce measurements are off. Generally a cup of flour is 4.4 ounces. I believe you were going by fluid measurements which is very different from dry ingredient measurements.
Can’t wait to try this recipe! I will definitely set my scale to grams.
Hi Annmarie
My preference for recipes is weight in grams (metric), rather than in ounces. Whoever decided we should use the same word for volume and weight sure created a lot of confusion. 🙂 Thus I provide measurements in weight (metric) and volume (Imperial).
As you say, a cup of flour is approximately 4.4 ounces or 120 grams by weight; it’s also 8 fluid ounces. Just to make things difficult!
I hope the recipe worked out for you. It’s one of our favourites.
Best,
Helen
Read all comments Was so excited to try this recipe. I’m an experienced baker of 50 years. And have never had such an epic fail,! I measured every dry ingredient as always, even adjust flour to 254 g for brand of AP flour. I use, My only mistake. Was using dark brown sugar instead of light brown sugar because i love the extra caramel flavor, this misstep made cookies almost black when baked. I refrigerated dough before scooping and before baking They baked up flat, almost lacy, and super greasy . They would have tasted nicer with light brown sugar but this turned out looking nothing like your picture , Seems to me either less butter or more flour is needed. Also i used candied orange peel in half the balls and that really set off the orange element Liked idea of chopping the peel and adding to dough before scooping. Volume-wise, I got a few more tan 48 so this recipe.is worth trying again, perhaps using more flour in the recipe..
I’m so sorry you had difficulties with the recipe, Brent. It may be that the all-purpose flour you use is at the low end of the protein range, which for A/P can be anywhere from 10 to 13%. This blog from King Arthur Baking might be helpful. A stronger flour will make for a chewier cookie. It sounds like yours turned out almost like a brandy snap – which are delicious, but not the texture intended in the recipe.
The addition of candied orange peel sounds wonderful. I’m a huge citrus peel fan!
Hi Helen sounds really yummy combo of flavours !! With the molasses … it’s not very common in New Zealand & someone gave me some Black Strap Molasses. Could I use this for this recipe ? or do I need to get some other molasses ? Kind regards Caro
Hi Caro,
Black strap molasses should work just fine. I hope you enjoy the cookies!
Best,
Helen
I made this recipe because I love all the ingredients. They are delicious. Definitely not too spicy and I used blackstrap molasses. Each cookie is soft, chewy, with a little crispness around the edges.
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I’m so glad they worked well for you, Kathy. We made them this week, also. They’ll be served at our Christmas Eve dinner tomorrow. All the best of the season to you.
It turned out super delicious, chewy from the center and crispy from the edges, the orange zest gives it a very special flavour! Thank you for the recipe
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Thanks Gihan!
These were wonderful! I made them exactly according to directions – except that I chopped the candied ginger so it was dispersed through the cookie rather than one chunk in the middle. The fresh ginger and orange peel added wonderful flavor.
Great Recipe – I’ll make them again (and again!)
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Hi: I recently found your recipe on Pinterest and am considering making them for an afternoon tea but I have one question: You are specifying 16 0z. flour or 2 cups. 16 oz. of flour is closer to 4 cups as each cup weighs about 4 oz. I am assuming you mean 2 cups based on the volume of the other ingredients, Am I correct?
Yes, Aly. The cups are volume. I hope you enjoy the recipe!
Greetings Helen. Please can you suggest a substitute for the egg?
Hi Rajee. I did a little googling and this article suggested several substitutes. Good luck!
Has anyone tried substituting lemon instead of orange? I love lemon ginger tea and was thinking these would make for some great cookies with similar flavors.
Hi Eva,
I haven’t tried lemon, but it sounds like an intriguing option! Please let me know how it works out!
Best,
Helen
Sounds absolutely delicious…I’m going to try the original version first and then the lemon.Thank you for sharing such a wonderful recipe
Could you let me know the measurements in metric, I live in Uk, thanks
Sorry, I’m not following you. The recipe is listed in metric on the site.
Hi there, will the mixture freeze well so I can prepare in advance?
Yes, it freezes well.
Love them ….will definitely make again but will remove them from oven at the 13 minute mark. Flavor is amazing.
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I received so many compliments on these cookies yesterday (Thanksgiving). I was left with zero to enjoy myself because I was so thrilled to send them home with my guests.
I will definitely make them again. Probably for Christmas.
Putting the piece of ginger in the middle was no trouble at all and everyone loved it!
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I’m so glad, Wendy. Perhaps you will get to keep a few for yourself from the next batch!
I make these quite often and everybody likes them a lot. However there is a mistake in the measurements. Two cups of flour weighs 10 oz not 16. Sixteen oz (1 lb) of flour is just over 3 cups. I use 2 cups of flour when making this recipe. I also use glazed ginger diced quite small and work the pieces into the flour and then into the dough.
Great recipe. Thanks.
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Hi Saskia,
I give measurements in both volume (cups) and weight (grams). For the all-purpose flour, the volume is two 8 oz cups or 16 oz. The weight is 240 grams.
Best,
Helen
Turned out wonderful. Love the recipe, great flavor and texture. Put in my favorite book to make again, especially around Christmas. Thank you.
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I’m so glad you liked it, Julie!