Giant Ginger Cookies

304 Ratings
  • 5 78
  • 4 80
  • 3 85
  • 2 51
  • 1 10

To preserve the appearance of the sugary tops, layer cookies between parchment or wax paper when packing them for school lunches or as gifts. Freezing the dough for 20 minutes makes it easier to work with.

Everyday Food, December 2003

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Recipe Summary

prep:
30 mins
total:
50 mins
Yield:
Makes 12
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Ingredients

Directions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with racks in upper and lower thirds. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, allspice, and pepper.

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  • With an electric mixer, cream butter, brown sugar, and 1/2 cup granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in molasses and egg. With mixer on low, gradually beat in flour mixture until just combined. Flatten into a disk, wrap in plastic, and freeze for 20 minutes.

  • Divide dough into twelve 2-inch balls. Place remaining 1/3 cup granulated sugar in a bowl. Roll balls in sugar to coat; place at least 4 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Flatten into 3-inch rounds. Sprinkle with sugar remaining in bowl.

  • Bake until brown, rotating sheets halfway through, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool cookies on a wire rack.

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Reviews (40)

304 Ratings
  • 5 78
  • 4 80
  • 3 85
  • 2 51
  • 1 10
Martha Stewart Member
12/12/2017
People LOVE this cookie! I have made it at Christmas for the past 4 or 5 years and get rave reviews!
Martha Stewart Member
07/05/2015
Can you use demerera instead of the light brown sugar? If so any suggestions for modifications thanks!
Martha Stewart Member
02/23/2015
I'd love to know if Martha has secrets for those yummy oatmeal cookies that have the salted tops. Any suggestions? Thanks!
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Martha Stewart Member
12/04/2013
I make these cookies every year for about 8 years. Mine are never as dark as the picture, but they are beautiful. Instead of regular sugar for the outside, I use the sparkly sugar (it comes in a canister by the baking goods; looks like "jimmies" but only clear and sparkly). I also make them much smaller. I have never had a batch that wasn't a success, and I am not a partiuclarly good baker.
Martha Stewart Member
04/16/2013
hi i would like to know what you mean by all spices.
Martha Stewart Member
03/21/2013
Giant Ginger Cookies
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Martha Stewart Member
03/03/2013
Average taste. I'd like to know how they got the crackling effect in the picture, when they indicate the flatten the dough. Also, interested how they got the white sugar to look that way in the picture too.
Martha Stewart Member
01/27/2013
I don't have a mixer so it was a labor of love to make these delicious cookies. It was worth all of the effort. I used blackstrap molasses and followed the recipe step by step. They looked just like the picture. Actually, the cookies are a little bigger in real life than in the picture! If you like gingerbread cookies, then you'll love Martha's giant version!
Martha Stewart Member
02/07/2012
I have never taken the time to review any recipe until now...these are the BEST cookies ever! Double the recipe and plan to overdose on the softest, chewiest, most delicious ginger molasses cookies you have ever tasted!
Martha Stewart Member
12/20/2011
Wow! These are yummy! I'm not a big spicy cookie fan, but these were delicious AND easy to make. These are going to be on the official Christmas cookie roster from now on!
Martha Stewart Member
09/30/2011
there is a big problem with these cookies. Once you make them, you will not be able to stop yourself from eating them. Really. You will become a cookie monster, so bake these with caution! I can never stop myself -- I made these today and scarfed down about 10...yes...10. It's ok, I'm thin but I still feel a bit piggish! But hey! I'll get over it and bake another batch another day! Tally ho! Enjoy!
Martha Stewart Member
09/11/2011
These cookies are obnoxiously big and I love them. Next time I will follow other reviewers' suggestions and double (or one and a half times) the spices. I followed the recipe exactly (except used salted butter and just 1/4 tsp. salt) and they came out perfectly, nice and chewy. Will make again for sure!
Martha Stewart Member
09/10/2011
Good cookie, but I'm doubling the spices & using dark brown sugar (I used the Robust Molasses) next time, as I would like to see them darker, richer looking. Also, I used ground white pepper as it's spicier, I think.
Martha Stewart Member
12/21/2010
I've made these cookies for the last two years and they're one of my favorites! I follow the directions and use an ice cream scoop so the cookies are the same size and cook evenly. I love that they stay chewy and never get crunchy.
Martha Stewart Member
12/19/2010
I make these at Christmas and this was the first Martha recipe I ever made - they turned out EXACTLY like the picture - I was so pleased. For future times that I've made them I usually make about 30 cookies from this recipe as they are huge, you will need to adjust the cooking time for a smaller cookie - use the black pepper (I even double the spices now - so good) and make sure to use black strap molasses or they wont be as dark! My husband who isn't a ginger fan LOVES these cookies!
Martha Stewart Member
12/08/2010
After some trial and error I keep the apperance of those pictured by cooling the dough as recommended and keeping it refrigerated while the others are baking. I also cool the cookie sheets with cold water between each batch and only do 3 cookies per parchmented cookie sheet. This obviously takes longer but they turn out beautifully.
Martha Stewart Member
11/24/2010
OMG these are delicious!
Martha Stewart Member
11/14/2010
Ok, so I take my comment underneath back. These cookies are awesome, (I thinK I just wasn't in the mood for them when I made them). I love the pepper in them and they were still soft 10 days later! Very recommended!
Martha Stewart Member
11/04/2010
I was not the biggest fan of these cookies, though my family seemed to like them. It might just be that I was in the mood for something sweeter, and also I didn't have any molasses, though I tried to compensate for that. If I were to make them again I would definitely cut back on the pepper.
Martha Stewart Member
09/15/2010
Thank you Smoothis for this!! I have been looking for recipes that have reduced fat and sodium, since my heart attack, and still enjoy some treats!! Thanks for making these substitution. Can't wait to try this recipe with your subs.
Martha Stewart Member
03/28/2010
These were great! I made a few substitutions though to increase the nutritional content. I used 1 1/4C AP flour, 10tbls oat flour, and 10tbls whole wheat flour for more fibre and protein. 6tbls butter and 6tbls canola oil for less saturated fat and more poly and monounsaturates. For the salt requirement, I used 3/4 tsp sea salt. Additionally, I used half an egg plus 1tbls of egg whites to reduce the cholesterol. With the substitutions, they were still fabulous.
Martha Stewart Member
02/19/2009
These cookies are excellent. I would also tone down the black pepper and with all that baking soda leave plenty of room between cookies on the baking sheet.
Martha Stewart Member
12/22/2008
These are gorgeous just based on size and color. Tasty too, but make sure to use the entire 1/3 cup sugar called for before baking, otherwise they lack necessary sweetness.
Martha Stewart Member
12/18/2008
is there a substitute for the molasses that you can use?
Martha Stewart Member
12/16/2008
use the dark molasses
Martha Stewart Member
12/10/2008
I love these cookies and so did everyone else at my cookies exchange. BUT mine have never turned out this dark... anyone else have this issue?
Martha Stewart Member
11/21/2008
I've made these cookies several times--always to rave reviews. They have crispy edges and chewy centers. I prefer to half or even quarter the amount of pepper suggested. The cookies are magnificent 5-inch beauties, but also work well when made about half the size.
Martha Stewart Member
11/01/2008
WOW! These look so good! =O =O
Martha Stewart Member
11/01/2008
WOW! These look so good! =O =O
Martha Stewart Member
10/28/2008
Oh Boy I have been buying these cookies at our local farmers market for the last two weelend but now it is done for the season. These look like the real deal and now I will bake my own! Thank you.
Martha Stewart Member
02/27/2008
These cookies stayed chewy for days. I didn't make them super large so I ended up with a huge batch, but no one was complaining. I didn't have allspice so I ended up throwing in cinnamon and ground cloves into the mix and it still resulted in a perfect cookie. And, I definitely agree with easolluna, do NOT leave out the pepper!
Martha Stewart Member
01/29/2008
I made these at Christmas, and they are absolutely wonderful! I didn't watch the time closely enough so they came out crunchy instead of chewy (always my problem with baking cookies), but the flavor was soo yummy. DON'T leave out the pepper.
Martha Stewart Member
01/14/2008
They were a huge hit. They have the right blend of sweet and savory flavor that was a hit with adults who don't like a lot of sugary sweets. I quadrupled the batch for Christmas sharing. Instead of rounds I pressed the dough into large rectangles and sliced to make square cookies.
Martha Stewart Member
12/22/2007
These might be some of the best cookies I have ever made. Came out super big, but they were a definite hit!
Martha Stewart Member
12/20/2007
These cookies were so tasty! They were very buttery and chewy. I divided the dough into 24 balls instead of 12 and they still were rather large. For 24 smaller cookies, I baked only 10-11 min. I also left out the pepper because that seemed like a very strange ingredient. I guess I am not so adverturous.
Martha Stewart Member
12/15/2007
These have a great texture - the freezer trick really works! However, my friends
Martha Stewart Member
12/13/2007
These cookies are divine! I've also added finely chopped candy ginger (2 tbsp) and a dash of cayenne pepper as an extra kick and it gets rave reviews at Christmas cocktail parties. There's something inherently Christmas-y about these cookies that brings us all back to a time when cookies were baked more often than bought.
Martha Stewart Member
12/02/2007
These were a hit when I made them last year during the holidays.
Martha Stewart Member
11/23/2007
I made these for my aunt who was THE baker in the family and she LOVED them. I asked her if she wanted the recipe and she told me no, she wanted me to make her some more cookies. LOL
Martha Stewart Member
11/14/2007
I love ginger cookies!
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