Pearl Sugar Ginger Cookies! These beauties are holiday-perfect with their crackled gingerbread looks and a crusting of pearl sugar.
What is pearl sugar, you ask? Something awesome! It’s the kind of thing you see in Scandinavian bakeries, and through the miracle of the internet, you can now use it in home baking as well.
I highly recommend the stuff. Not only is it pretty, but it adds an texturally-pleasant crunch. That is especially nice with these cookies, as the actual cookie is quite chewy. The sugar granules make it into something extraordinary.
If you can’t find pearl sugar in nearby stores (I can’t), it is available on Amazon. I like the Lars’ brand. [affiliate link]
These cookies will keep for upwards of a week in a sealed container, making them perfect for holiday cookie trays and gift-giving.
Recipe modified from my favorite baking magazine, Bake from Scratch.
Bready or Not: Pearl Sugar Ginger Cookies
Equipment
- parchment paper
- teaspoon scoop
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick) room temperature
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar packed
- 1 medium lemon zested
- 1/3 cup molasses not blackstrap
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 cup Swedish pearl sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Beat together the butter, white sugar, brown sugar, and lemon zest until fluffy. In a stand mixer , this will be 2 to 3 minutes. Add the molasses and egg, scraping the bowl to make sure everything is mixed.
- In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, ginger, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cardamom, and cloves.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture. Stage the pearl sugar in a small bowl.
- Use a teaspoon scoop to form balls of dough. Roll them in the pearl sugar. If the granules aren’t sticking well, lightly dampen the dough and try again. Place the balls spaced out on the pan.
- Bake until the cookies look crackled on top with the edges just set, at 10 to 12 minutes. Let set on pan a few minutes before transferring cookies to a rack to completely cool. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature.
