Ginger Cream Cookies with Brown Sugar Buttercream
These irresistibly soft and chewy Ginger Cream Cookies are a perfect cookie for the holiday season and beyond. No electric mixer necessary so the cookie dough whips up in just minutes. A brown sugar buttercream pairs with the ginger and spices of the cookies so perfectly!
Servings: 28 cookies (approx.)
Ingredients
For the Cookies:
- ¾ c butter, melted and cooled slightly
- ⅓ c brown sugar packed
- ⅓ c granulated white sugar plus more for rolling (approximately 1/3 cup more)
- 1 large egg
- ⅓ c unsulfured molasses
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 ½ tsp baking soda
- 2 ¼ c flour (315 g) spooned and leveled
- 2 tsp ginger ground
- 1½ tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp cloves ground
- ½ tsp sea salt
For the Brown Sugar Buttercream Frosting:
- 1 c salted butter
- 4 c powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- ⅓ c brown sugar
- 2-3 T heavy cream
Instructions
For the Cookies:
- Whisk together the melted butter and sugars in a large mixing bowl until combined. Add the vanilla, egg and molasses until fully incorporated.
- Whisk together flour, sea salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and baking soda to combine. Slowly stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, only until combined. Chill for at least 30 minutes but ideally 1- 2 hours and up to 3 days covered. If chilling more than two hours, allow the dough to sit out for about 30 minutes before spooning into balls.
- Once dough is chilled, preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Roll dough into approximately 1 1/2 inch balls (or use a 1 ½ T cookie scoop) and toss in sugar to coat. Place the cookies about 2 inches apart on a parchment lined baking sheet.Bake for 8-10 minutes or until edges are just barely browned--they may not seem like they are done, but grab them just before you think they are done.
- Allow to cool for several minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack.
For the Brown Sugar Buttercream:
- In a medium bowl, cream the butter with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Add the brown sugar and vanilla and beat for about 3-5 minutes or until creamy and brown sugar is dissolved into the butter.
- Add the powdered sugar about 1 cup at a time and beat to mix in. Add the powdered sugar until desired thickness. Add the cream one tablespoon at a time until smooth and creamy. Pipe frosting or spread it on completely cooled cookies and decorate with sprinkles or make into ginger cream pies/sandwich cookies.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for about 1 week. If storing in the fridge, allow to come to room temperature before eating for best chewiness!
Notes
- Do not skip chilling the cookie dough. You should be able to easily roll the cookie dough into balls. If the dough is still too sticky after chilling, you can chill longer or stir in a bit more flour.
- For an even stronger molasses flavor, use dark brown sugar. Dark brown sugar has more molasses in it so if you love that super strong rich flavor, opt for the dark versus light brown sugar.
- You don't have to roll the cookie dough in the sugar if desired. If you want a softer outside to your cookies, you can omit it. You can alternately roll the cookie dough in raw sugar for a lot of crunch.
Nutrition for this recipe is based off a cookie with heavy piped frosting. Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy only and should be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. Ingredients can vary and Lemons + Zest makes no guarantees to the accuracy of this information.
Nutrition
Calories: 241kcal | Carbohydrates: 33g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.5g | Cholesterol: 38mg | Sodium: 196mg | Potassium: 27mg | Fiber: 0.3g | Sugar: 24g | Vitamin A: 379IU | Vitamin C: 0.02mg | Calcium: 12mg | Iron: 1mg