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.
If you've got some sorghum syrup on hand, you must try these sorghum spice cookies. Similar to my soft molasses cookies, sorghum cookies are filled with spices and turn out chewy and tender.
You may be wondering, what is sorghum syrup and how is it different from molasses? Both products are thick, sweet syrups that can be used in baking. Sorghum syrup has a milder, nutty flavor and slightly thinner consistency. While sorghum could be used on its own like maple syrup, molasses tends to only be used in baking.
Sorghum spice cookies make a great addition to your holiday cookie tray. They're lightly spiced, rolled in cinnamon sugar before baking, and turn out soft and chewy.
Ingredients and substitutions
- Butter - Unsalted butter and half of the listed salt can be substituted with salted butter if desired. Make sure your butter is room temperature, not cold or melted.
- Brown sugar - Brown sugar adds sweetness, moisture, and a caramelized flavor to the cookies.
- 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.
- Egg - One egg adds moisture and structure to the cookies.
- Flour - All-purpose flour adds structure and balances with the wet ingredients in the recipe. I've only tested this recipe with all-purpose flour, so I don't recommend substituting with other types of flours.
- Leavening - You'll need baking soda for these cookies. Baking soda works with the acidic ingredients in the dough, like sorghum syrup and brown sugar, to help your cookies rise and spread in the oven. Baking soda cannot be substituted with baking powder, the two are not interchangeable.
- Salt - Enhances the flavors in the cookies and balances with the sweetness.
- Spices - Cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves add a spiced, warm flavor to the cookies.
- Granulated sugar - We're rolling our dough balls in a combination of granulated sugar and cinnamon before baking. This adds a nice crunchy crust to the outside of our cookies.
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.
Properly measured flour - This is the #1 most common issue I see in baking. Adding too much flour to any baking recipe will make your dough dry. Cookie dough needs the proper ratio of dry and wet ingredients to work together. To properly measure flour, I highly recommend weighing your flour. This ensures you're adding the correct amount of flour every time. If you don't have a kitchen scale, use a spoon to gently add flour into your measuring cup, then level off with a knife. Do not scoop flour directly from a bin. This compacts the flour into the cup and adds up to an extra 25% flour to your recipe. Extra flour = dry, bland cookies.
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.
Storage
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).
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
- 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
- Sorghum alternative: Don't have sorghum on hand? It can be substituted with unsulphured molasses, like Grandma's brand.
- Measuring flour: I highly recommend using 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.
- 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!
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