White Chocolate Dipped Soft Molasses Cookies with Pear and Ginger. Quite possibly the perfect Christmas cookie.

I think on everyone's holiday baking list there needs to be at least one variation of spiced soft molasses cookies. They are really easy to make, and can be customized to any way you want them. They are amazing as is filled with warm, winter spices, soft and chewy and rolled in sugar before baking for that sugary crunch and to add a little holiday sparkle.

I started off with my basic soft molasses cookies recipe that I have been using for years and mixed it up a little this year with adding in diced dried pear and diced crystallized ginger. The dough needs to chill after it is made so I made the dough at night, popped in the fridge to chill overnight and baked the next day. I actually made several doughs that needed chilling. Half my fridge is chilled dough, half my freezer is baked cookies. I love the holidays.

I love the sparkle the sugar adds to the finished cookies. These are great as is, you don't have to go the extra step and dip in white chocolate then top with sprinkles like I did. I wanted to make them look even fancier so I went for it. A little excess at the holidays is a-ok in my book.

I melted some Guittard vanilla white chocolate chips for these cookies. You can use any white chocolate you like - chips or bars. Doesn't matter to me. I melted over a double boiler then added in a little bit of coconut oil to thin the chocolate a little bit more to make it easier for dipping.

Once dipped I topped with sprinkles. I made my own "snow" mix with Wilton white non-pareils ( those things get everywhere!), white jimmies and big sugar crystals.

The trick to keeping these cookies soft is to slightly under bake by a minute. You want the middle just set, so when they cool they aren't as crisp as a ginger snap. These are thick, soft, chewy cookies.

I use a medium size cookie scoop for these so I have big, 3" cookies. I am all for big cookies, especially molasses cookies. The scoop is a 1 ½ tablespoon amount, also called a #40 scoop. It is my go-to scoop for most cookies.

These cookies are easily in my top 3 favorite Christmas cookies I make.

White Chocolate Dipped Soft Molasses Cookies with Pear and Ginger

Shanna

Classic soft molasses cookies studded with diced dried pear, crystalized ginger pieces, dipped in creamy white chocolate and decorated with sparkling sprinkles. A perfect Christmas cookie.

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Prep Time 20

Cook Time 12

Additional Time 12

Total Time 12 32

Servings 18 -20 cookies

Ingredients

For the cookies:

2 ½ C All Purpose Flour 11.25 ounces
2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon all spice
¼ teaspoon cloves
1 cup butter 2 sticks/8 ounces
1 cup brown sugar ( 8 ounces
¼ cup molasses
1 large egg room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup dried pear diced
½ cup crystalized ginger diced

For rolling:

1 cup granulate sugar

For decoration:

6-8 ounces white chocolate chips or bar
1 teaspoon coconut oil
White sprinkles non-pareils, jimmies, sugar crystals etc

Instructions

1. Combine flour, baking soda, salt and spices in a bowl, whisk to combine, set aside.
2. Cream butter and sugar until combined, then add molasses, egg and vanilla. Mix again, scrape down sides of bowl when necessary.
3. Add in the flour mixture and mix on low until just combined. Add in the pear and ginger on low.
4. Transfer dough to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap then chill 4 hours up to overnight. I suggest overnight for flavors to mix well.
5. When ready to bake heat oven to 350 Deg F. Prepare baking sheets with parchment paper.
6. Scoop out dough balls with a medium sized cookie scoop ( #40 - 1 ½ tablespoon size) then roll into a ball with your hands. Roll in granulated sugar until well coated then place on cookie sheet.
7. Place each cookie dough ball a few inches apart. Bake for 12-13 minutes.
8. Cool on cookie sheet a few minutes then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely. Once all the cookies are completely cooled, melt the white chocolate.
9. Prepare a cookie sheet with wax paper. Dip the cookies halfway into the melted white chocolate then place on the wax paper. Top the chocolate dipped half with sprinkles, then set cookies in refrigerator or freezer to set the chocolate.
10. Cookies can be kept at cool room temperature in an airtight container for a few days or up to 3 months in the freezer.

These cookies freeze well, kept in a resealable bag or airtight container. They keep their soft texture too, thaw to room temperature before eating.