Gingerbread and Molasses Cookies

When it comes to holiday desserts, we have a tendency to go all-out. Gingerbread houses. Yule log cakes. Towering sculptures of macarons. Yet somewhere among all those carefully sculpted sweets is the simple question: "Does it taste good?" 

You know what tastes good? Cookies. Especially the magically soft-yet-crispy kind, like this recipe from The Beer Pantry. Because if you're going to go for a crowd-pleasing dessert, it doesn't hurt that it pairs perfectly with your favorite toasty, malty lager.

Gingerbread and Molasses Cookies
Makes about 20 cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter 
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar 
1/2 cup molasses 
2 teaspoons baking soda 
1 teaspoon kosher salt 
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 
1 tablespoon finely chopped candied ginger 
1 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger 
2 large eggs 
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment.
2. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and 1 cup of the sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add the molasses, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and all three forms of ginger; mix until well combined. Add the eggs and beat at medium speed for 1 minute, stopping halfway through to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl. Add the flour and beat at low speed until just combined. Using a spatula, scrape the sides of the bowl and mix into the dough.
3. Pour the remaining sugar into a bowl. Take about 2 tablespoons of dough and roll it into a ball. Roll the ball in the sugar and place on a baking sheet, then press down lightly to flatten the ball into a disk. Repeat with the remaining dough, leaving 3 inches between cookies.
4. Bake the cookies until lightly brown around the edges, about 12 minutes, and let cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

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