Sorghum spice cookies are filled with cozy fall spices and make the perfect addition to your next cookie tray. They're chewy, soft, and packed with sweet holiday flavor.
Recipe summary
Flavor/texture: Soft, chewy cookies with a spiced, nutty flavor similar to molasses cookies.
What is sorghum? A thick, sweet syrup with a nutty flavor, similar to molasses when used in baking.
Yield: 28 cookies
You may also like: Pumpkin Sugar Cookies, Chai Oatmeal Cookies
Jump to:
Ingredients and substitutions
- Wet ingredients - Unsalted butter, brown sugar, sorghum, and egg add flavor and moisture to your cookies. Reducing any of these ingredients will cause cookies to turn out dry.
- Sorghum - Sorghum syrup adds a slightly nutty sweetness as well as moisture to the cookies. It can sometimes be found locally, depending on where you live. You can also find it online (Muddy Pond Sorghum Syrup on Amazon). Sorghum syrup can also be substituted with unsulphured molasses, like Grandma's brand, for a slightly stronger flavored cookie.
- Dry ingredients - All-purpose flour balances with the wet ingredients and adds structure to the dough. Baking soda helps your cookies rise while baking. I don't recommend substituting the flour with untested alternatives to prevent potentially wasting ingredients.
- Flavor - Salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves add cozy, warm flavor to the cookies. The spice can be substituted with a spice blend like pumpkin pie spice or apple pie spice if desired.
How to make Sorghum Spice Cookies
- Mix your creamed butter and sugar and wet ingredients together, then gradually stir in your dry ingredients until just combined.
- Scoop chilled dough with a medium cookie scoop and roll in cinnamon sugar.
- Place on a parchment lined baking sheet with enough space to spread.
- Bake at 350F for 10-11 minutes or until tops begin to crack.
Heather's Top Tip
For accurate results every time, use a kitchen scale to measure flour by weight. If you don't have a kitchen scale, use the spoon and level method. Stir the flour (especially if it's been packed down in a bag/container), then gently spoon into the measuring cup, leveling off the top with a knife. Scooping with a measuring cup compacts flour into the cup and adds up to 25% extra to the recipe, resulting in dry, bland cookies that don't spread properly.
Tips and tricks
Room temperature ingredients - It's very important to use room temperature ingredients for a few reasons. Room temperature ingredients incorporate together seamlessly to create a smooth, even dough. An even dough (without flecks of butter or egg) helps create perfect cookies. Creaming together the butter and sugar helps create lift in your cookies when they bake.
Don't overmix the dough - Once the gluten (flour) has been added to the recipe, take care not to overmix the dough. Overworking the gluten can cause your cookies to turn out tough.
Use parchment on your baking sheets - Parchment makes for easy cleanup after baking and helps ensure your cookies don't spread too much in the oven. Using grease or cooking spray instead of parchment ensures your cookies will spread more than they should in the oven.
Checking for doneness - Your sorghum cookies should look puffed up and have cracks on the top. Gently press a finger on top of a cookie - if it feels soft and mushy in the center, they may need another minute or two. If the cookie springs back and feels set in the center, they're done.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, sorghum syrup can be substituted with unsulphured molasses, like Grandma's brand.
Sorghum adds sweetness and moisture to the cookies as well as a slightly nutty, earthy flavor. It's very similar to using molasses in baking but has a slightly thinner texture and milder flavor.
Both products are thick, sweet syrups that can be used in baking. Sorghum syrup has a milder, nutty flavor and slightly thinner consistency. Molasses has a stronger caramelized, smoky flavor that may remind you of gingerbread. While sorghum could be used on its own like maple syrup, molasses tends to only be used in baking.
If your cookies are dry, it sounds like too much flour was added to the recipe. I highly recommend measuring flour by weight instead of using a measuring cup, which can add up to 25% extra flour to a recipe.
This recipe contains the proper ratios of wet to dry ingredients, including plenty of moisture-retaining ingredients, and will not turn out dry if the proper measurements, ingredients, and baking recommendations are followed.
Recommended
📖 Recipe
Sorghum Spice Cookies
Ingredients
Cookies:
- ¾ cup (170 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- ¾ cup (165 g) brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup (85 g) sorghum syrup
- 2 ½ cups (330 g) all purpose flour, *measured properly
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon cloves
For rolling:
- ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- In a large bowl, add butter and brown sugar. Using a hand (or stand) mixer, cream together until fluffy, about a minute. Add eggs and sorghum syrup, mixing briefly to incorporate.
- In a separate bowl, whisk (or sift) together the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves.
- Gradually stir dry ingredients into butter mixture until just combined.
- Cover bowl or wrap dough in wax paper. Chill for at least 1 hour (up to 24 hours) in the refrigerator. Refrigerating helps the flavors meld and also creates a firmer dough to roll into balls.
- Preheat oven to 350℉. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Remove dough from refrigerator and scoop dough using a medium cookie scoop or shape by hand into 1.5 inch balls.
- Add granulated sugar and cinnamon to a bowl and stir to combine. Gently roll balls in sugar to coat. Place cookie dough balls 2 inches apart onto prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for about 10-11 minutes, or until tops begin to crack, then allow to cool for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
Equipment Recommendations
Notes
- * How to measure flour properly: Use a kitchen scale to measure flour for accurate results every time. If you don't have a kitchen scale, use the spoon and level method. Stir the flour (especially if it's been packed down in a bag/container), then gently spoon into the measuring cup, leveling off the top with a knife. Scooping with a measuring cup compacts flour into the cup and adds up to 25% extra to the recipe, resulting in dry, bland cookies that don't spread properly.
- Sorghum alternative: Don't have sorghum on hand? It can be substituted with unsulphured molasses, like Grandma's brand.
- Storing cooking dough: Cookie dough will keep in refrigerator for 2-3 days, or up to 3 months in the freezer.
- Storing cookies: Cookies will keep for up to 5 days in a tightly sealed container at room temperature or in the freezer for 3 months. Add a slice of bread to the cookie container to help keep cookies moist. Replace as needed (bread will dry out).
- More tips: Be sure to check out my 10 tips for baking cookies, based on reader comments and questions!
I had so much fun creating this recipe! I hope you give it a try and love it as much as I do. If you have a question, check out the post above, which is packed with information about the recipe. Tried the recipe? I'd love to hear your thoughts — leave a comment and a star rating to share your feedback!