Spicy Molasses Cookies

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons raw (turbinado) sugar, divided
• ¾ cup whole wheat pastry flour*
• ⅓ cup whole wheat flour
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ⅛ teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons (¾ stick) unsalted butter
• ¾ teaspoon cinnamon
• ¾ teaspoon ground ginger
• ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
• ⅛ teaspoon ground allspice
• ⅛ teaspoon ground pepper (a couple of twists’ worth)
• ¼ cup light or dark molasses
• 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar or Muscovado sugar
• 1 large egg yolk
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

1. With an oven rack in the middle position, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Pour 1 tablespoon of raw sugar into a small, shallow dish for rolling.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, baking soda and salt.
4. In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in the cinnamon, ginger, cloves, allspice and pepper. Cook until fragrant, about 1 to 2 minutes.
5. Transfer the butter mixture to a large bowl and let cool slightly.
6. Whisk the remaining 3 tablespoons raw sugar, brown sugar, egg yolk, vanilla and molasses into the melted butter mixture. Stir in the flour mixture until combined.
7. Use a cookie dough scoop or spoons to scoop out about one tablespoon of dough at a time. Lightly shape into a ball and dunk half the cookie into the small bowl of raw sugar. Place each cookie on the baking sheet, sugar side up, leaving a couple of inches around each cookie.
8. Bake the cookies until the edges are set but the centers are still soft, puffy and underdone, which will take 9 to 12 minutes.
9. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for ten minutes, then serve warm or transfer to a cooling rack.