When I was in Maine this summer, we experienced the delight that is the Rooster Brother Molasses Ginger Cookie. My son has been asking me to try to duplicate them ever since. I’m not one to experiment much with a recipe, so I turned to my most trusted resource, Mrs. Ina Garten. I’ve made her Ultimate Ginger Cookies before, but the flavor is intense. They’re good, but you wouldn’t mistake them for the Rooster Brother cookie, so I decided to make them with a few modifications.
I thought they turned out great, although my son said they were not quite like the ones we had in Maine. Oh well, you win some, you lose some, right?
Perhaps I’ll try them again without the ginger pieces. Or, I’ll make a batch for the kids without, and then add some in for the last pan and save those for the adults.
Here’s my recipe!
Ginger Cookies
Ingredients:
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed
• 1/4 cup coconut oil or melted butter
• 1/3 cup unsulphured molasses
• 1 extra-large egg, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup chopped crystallized ginger (optional)
• sugar, for rolling cookies
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F and line 2 sheet pans with silpat or parchment.
In a medium-sized bowl, mix flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and salt. (Or find a minion to do it.)
In your mixer bowl, beat the brown sugar, oil, and molasses on medium speed for 5 minutes. Turn the speed to low speed, add the egg, and beat for 1 minute. Scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula and beat for 1 more minute. (Or, do what I did, and throw it all in there and mix until it looks about right.)
With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredients, then mix on medium speed for 2 minutes, or you know, thereabouts.
Mix in the crystallized ginger, if desired.
Roll dough into 2-inch balls, roll them in sugar, and place them on the cookie sheets, flattening them lightly with your fingers.
Bake for exactly 13 minutes. The cookies should be cracked on the top and soft inside. (Ina says will; I say should, because we all know that things rarely work out like the professionals say they will. Amazingly, these turned out perfectly.)
Let the cookies cool for a minute or two and the transfer to wire racks to cool completely. If you have that kind of will power, then you are a stronger woman than I. They were barely off the pans when we dove in. Chase ‘em with a glass of cold whole milk or a mug of freshly brewed coffee, depending on the weather.
ENJOY!
My 4-year-old just asked me if we could make gingerbread men yesterday. (We checked out “The Gingerbread Man” from the library). Thanks for the recipe!
I will never ever forget when you made these for me when I was green with morning sickness!! Do you remember? You baked them fresh when I was over because I was whining about being sick and only wanting cookies.
I love you!
I was just trying to Google the Rooster Brothers Ginger Molasses recipe and saw that they keep it secret!! I’m going to try this recipe over the weekend for a holiday party and then a bake sale at work! Thanks!
These are AMAZING. As close as you’ll get to Rooster Bros!
Good luck!
OMG OMG OMG!!! Jo-Lynne these are AWESOME!! Finally got around to baking them tonight and they are excellent!!! These will definitely cure my Rooster Bros craving between trips to Maine!! Thanks!
Trying these tonight! I will let you now how they turn out. Do you think these cookies will appeal to picky 6 year olds or should I just go with chocolate chip?
It’s a hard call. Chocolate chip are probably safer, but these are really delicious if you don’t mind a strong ginger flavor.
Yum! Thanks for the recipe – the kids loved these! 22 out of the 24 kids asked for thirds
And next week they’re getting your famous chocolatey brownies!
You are spoiling those kids!!!!!