although i very rarely bake sweets (usually just for very special occasions!), come november i make a batch of these cookies pretty much weekly until the new year. because they are the best. cookies. ever. — and because they just delightfully taste like the holidays to me. we had our first batch of 2016 just yesterday!

-heat oven to 375.

-in a medium bowl, mix together
2 1/4 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice
3/4 tsp ground cloves.

-in a standing mixer, cream together
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar

then mix in
one egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup unsulphered molasses (i can’t find this in the uk so i just bought a waaaaay-too-expensive bottle off amazon – it’s just necessary for me to have this on hand in november and december!).

-slowly add the dry ingredients while your mixer is on low.

-put about 1/3 cup white sugar in a shallow bowl. roll small balls of dough in that sugar until they are finely coated. place the sugar-coated dough balls on a cookie sheet.

-bake until the outer edges start to set and the centers are soft and puffy. start with eight minutes and see how they look – they may need just one-two minutes more. they should not look “done” when you take them out – and if you overcook them even a little you’ll miss the perfect consistency that makes these the best!