Name: Molasses Spice Cookies (Reduced Sugar)
Total time: 1 h 40 min
Ingredients: 2¼ cups (11¼ ounces/319 grams) all-purpose flour; 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon; 1½ teaspoons ground ginger; 1 teaspoon baking soda; ½ teaspoon ground cloves; ¼ teaspoon ground allspice; ¼ teaspoon pepper; ¼ teaspoon salt; 12 tablespoons unsalted butter , softened; ¾ cup plus ⅔ cup Sucanat (7¾ ounces/220 grams); ¼ cup whole milk; 1 large egg yolk; 1 tablespoon blackstrap molasses; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Why This Recipe Works

The granulated sugar, dark brown sugar, and generous amount of mild molasses meant that our traditional spice cookie recipe was loaded with sugar. Our first move was to switch out the usual combination of white and brown sugars for Sucanat and omit the molasses altogether, hoping that the natural molasses present in the Sucanat would be enough to flavor our cookies. While tasters were fairly happy with the flavor of the cookies, taking out the molasses had also eliminated a lot of moisture, so the cookies were very dry. To fix this, we added in some milk, and found that a mere ¼ cup was enough to create a moist, chewy cookie. But the milk also had an unexpected consequence: The dairy had muted the bold, bittersweet flavor that is the hallmark of a great molasses cookie. No matter what spices we added, we could not re-create the robust molasses flavor we were after. In the end, the solution was to add just a small amount of molasses back to our cookies. To get the most impact while keeping the amount as small as possible, we used blackstrap molasses, which has much bolder flavor and contains less sugar than mild or medium molasses.

Before You Begin

You can learn more about Sucanat in this article. Do not shortchange the dough's 30-minute resting time in step 3 or the cookies will taste slightly bland. You can substitute mild or medium molasses for the blackstrap molasses, but the sugar content of the cookies will be different.

Instructions

Combine flour, cinnamon, ginger, baking soda, cloves, allspice, pepper, and salt in bowl.

Using stand mixer fitted with paddle, beat butter and Sucanat on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add milk, egg yolk, molasses, and vanilla and mix until combined, about 1 minute. Reduce speed to low, add flour mixture, and mix until combined, about 1 minute, scraping down bowl as needed. Give dough final stir by hand.

Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Working with scant 3 tablespoons dough at a time, roll into balls and space 2 inches apart on prepared sheets.

Bake cookies, 1 sheet at a time, until browned and edges have begun to set but centers are still soft and puffy, 10 to 12 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking. Let cookies cool completely on sheet. Serve.