I’m baaack! It’s been a while, but this recipe is worth the wait. I have to admit, I stole this idea from a local restaurant. I was there eating lunch one day, and of course had to take a peek in their dessert case. They had these giant ginger cookies with 5-spice in them, and I thought, “genius!” While I didn’t try one of theirs that day (there were too many other delish desserts to choose from), that idea stuck in my mind. So this fall, I finally created my own version. Say hello to Soft 5-Spice Ginger Cookies!
What’s in 5-Spice?
Five-spice powder — often called “Chinese five-spice” — is a mix of spices used in Chinese cuisine. According to Wikipedia, “the five flavors of the spices reflect the five traditional Chinese elements (wood, fire, earth, metal, and water) and flavors (sweet, bitter, sour, salty, and savory).” It can have a variety of ingredients, but the most common combination is: star anise, fennel, cloves, cinnamon, and Sichuan pepper.
The five-spice powder I found in my local grocery store is a bit different. It has star anise, cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, and ginger. So that’s what I used to test this recipe. I think the traditional mix would be equally delicious in a ginger cookie though, and I included a little extra ginger in this recipe so that, even if the five-spice powder you have doesn’t contain ginger, your cookies still will (though I’d maybe add an extra 1/2 tsp or so).
Soft, Chewy, and Chock Full of Spices
These cookies are an actual dream. I based them on my Northern Ginger Cookies — which, if you like a soft ginger cookie, you’ll love as well.
This version is SO SOFT, a little bit chewy (especially if you chill the dough overnight before baking — not required, but highly recommended), and FULL of flavor. They’ve got brown butter, molasses, dark brown sugar, and that five-spice powder … plus a little extra cinnamon and ginger. My favorite addition is the anise in the five-spice powder. I don’t know why I’ve never thought to add star anise to my molasses/ginger/gingerbread cookies, but I’ll never go back.
Tips for Making Your Best Soft 5-Spice Ginger Cookies
Ok, let’s go over a few things to know about this recipe:
- Brown your butter. Brown butter adds SO. MUCH. FLAVOR. Don’t skip this step (plus, when you brown butter, it evaporates some of the water in it, so if you make them without browning the butter they’ll turn out flat and sad). If you’re not sure how to brown butter, I’ve got you covered in this post.
- Let your browned butter chill. Once you brown your butter, pop it in the fridge to chill for about 40-50 minutes, stirring once or twice. When you mix up your cookie dough, you want the butter cooled down and preferably starting to thicken up again (but not solid).
- Use dark brown sugar. Trust me, it’s worth buying dark brown sugar for the extra molasses flavor it’ll impart. Plus, if you’re making gingerbread for the holidays, you can use the rest in that.
- Use fresh spices. The spices add a lot of flavor to these cookies, so it’s worth it to use fresh spices. You don’t have to grind your own or anything (unless you really want to) — just make sure the spices you’re using haven’t been sitting in the cupboard for years.
- Add ginger to your rolling sugar! We’ve all done cinnamon sugar (and if you’ve made my Chai Spice Snickerdoodles you’ve done chai spice sugar). This is similar, but we’re using ground ginger instead. It really amps up the ginger flavor of these cookies.
- Chill your dough overnight. Yes, I know — annoying. And you don’t have to do it, but chilling the dough in this case makes your cookies chewier and really amps up the spice flavor.
- But portion it out first. Before you pop your dough in the fridge, use a medium cookie scoop or your hands to portion the dough and roll it into 1 1/2-inch balls. I like to line mine up on a cookie sheet, cover it with a piece of parchment paper, and smooth out the tops a bit (see the photo in the recipe instructions).
- Roll in sugar after chilling. After your dough is chilled, pull it out of the fridge and let it warm up a bit while you’re preheating your oven. Roll each dough ball in your ginger-sugar mixture, then bake!
And that’s that! I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I enjoyed creating it. Happy baking!
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Soft 5-Spice Ginger Cookies
Ingredients
Cookies
- 3/4 c butter
- 2 1/4 c all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp Chinese 5-spice powder
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 c granulated sugar
- 1/2 c dark brown sugar
- 4 T molasses
- 2 T milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
Rolling sugar
- 1/4 c granulated sugar
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
Instructions
- First, brown your butter. (See my post on brown butter for details and process photos, if you're not sure how to do that.) Once butter is browned, pour it into a separate dish, scraping out all those delicious browned butter bits. Pop the dish in the fridge to cool for 40-50 minutes, stirring once or twice.As the butter cools, it should thicken a little. It'll still be fluid, but more like a sauce than melted butter.3/4 c butter
- Whisk dry ingredients together in a medium mixing bowl.2 1/4 c all-purpose flour, 2 tsp Chinese 5-spice powder, 1 tsp ground ginger, 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, 2 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp salt
- Once brown butter is cooled, get on with mixing up your cookie dough!In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a large mixing bowl using a hand mixer), beat brown butter and both sugars for 2-3 minutes on medium speed until light and fluffy.1/2 c granulated sugar, 1/2 c dark brown sugar
- Add molasses, milk, vanilla, and egg. Beat at medium speed until well combined, about 1-2 minutes.4 T molasses, 2 T milk, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1 large egg
- Slowly add dry ingredients, continuing to mix at low speed just until combined.
- OPTIONAL step, but highly recommended: Portion all dough out using a medium cookie scoop. I like to line mine up on a sheet pan, then cover with a sheet of parchment paper and smooth the tops down a little. Chill overnight.
- Once you're ready to bake, preheat oven to 350℉. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking sheets.
- Next, mix up your rolling sugar: combine granulated sugar and ground ginger in a small bowl. If you haven't already, scoop/roll cookie dough into 1 1/2-inch balls, using a medium cookie scoop or your hands. Roll dough balls in rolling sugar, and place on prepared cookie sheets.1/4 c granulated sugar, 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- Bake for 10-12 minutes. Let cool on the cookie sheet for 10 minutes or so, then move to a cooling rack to cool completely.Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. Or, freeze for up to 2 months.
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