Description
Delight in these Best Ginger Cookies topped with a zesty Orange Clove Icing. Soft and flavorful, these cookies combine aromatic spices and a touch of molasses for a warm, comforting treat perfect for the holiday season or any cozy gathering.
Ingredients
Scale
Ingredients for the Cookies
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 3/4 cup organic fair trade sugar
- 2 Tbsp backstrap molasses
- 1 pastured egg
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 Tbsp ginger paste
- 1 3/4 cups Einkorn ancient grain flour (can substitute regular all purpose flour)
- 2 tsp aluminum free baking powder
- 1/8 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
Ingredients for the Icing
- 2 cups organic powdered sugar
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 3 Tbsp milk
- 2 drops Sweet Orange essential oil or orange zest to taste
- few pinches ground cloves
- Note: This amount of icing makes enough to fully cover the cookies. If just drizzling, amounts can be halved.
Instructions
- Preheat Oven: Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit to prepare for baking the cookies.
- Cream Butter Mixture: In a large bowl, cream together the softened butter, sugar, and molasses until smooth and well blended.
- Add Wet Ingredients: Whisk in the egg, vanilla extract, and ginger paste until fully incorporated into the butter mixture.
- Combine Dry Ingredients: In a separate bowl, stir together Einkorn flour, baking powder, sea salt, ground cinnamon, ground cloves, and ground nutmeg.
- Mix Dry and Wet: Gently stir the dry ingredients into the wet mixture until everything is well combined, forming a cookie dough.
- Shape Cookies: Using clean hands, roll the dough into small balls and place them evenly spaced on parchment-lined cookie sheets, about 12 balls per sheet.
- Bake: Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 8-10 minutes or until the surface feels firm and just starts to crack.
- Cool: Allow the cookies to cool completely on the baking sheet before applying the icing.
- Prepare Icing: In a bowl, mix organic powdered sugar, vanilla extract, milk, sweet orange essential oil or orange zest, and ground cloves until smooth.
- Ice Cookies: Either drizzle or fully cover the cooled cookies with the prepared orange clove icing according to your preference.
Notes
- To reduce the amount of icing, halve the ingredients if just drizzling instead of fully covering the cookies.
- Use Einkorn ancient grain flour for a more wholesome cookie, or substitute with regular all-purpose flour without affecting texture significantly.
- Ensure cookies are fully cooled before icing to prevent melting and running.
- Sweet orange essential oil can be replaced with freshly grated orange zest for a natural flavor.
- Store cookies in an airtight container to maintain freshness for up to one week.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 8-10 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: ginger cookies, orange clove icing, holiday cookies, molasses cookies, spiced cookies, homemade cookies, Einkorn flour
