As a kid, my favorite cookies were the Trader Joe’s Gingerbread Molasses Cookies. While it may no longer be fall (a season filled with spices) or winter (a season filled with gingerbread), I thought it would be fun to revisit my childhood and take a crack at making my favorite prepackaged cookies from scratch. With the gloomy weather still upon us, take half an hour to try out this cozy recipe to perfectly complement the rain. Don’t forget to share some warm, spice-filled cookies with friends!

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons ground ginger (or pumpkin pie spice)

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 stick unsalted butter

1 cup sugar (plus more for rolling)

1/3 cup of molasses

1 egg

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk the flour, ginger (or pumpkin pie spice), cinnamon, baking soda, cloves and salt together in a medium bowl. Set this bowl aside.

In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar together until well combined. You can use an electric mixer to speed up the process, but it’s not necessary. After you’ve completely mixed the butter and sugar together, add the molasses and egg. Beat it until all of the components have been mixed together (about three minutes). Again, you can use an electric mixer for this, but it’s not necessary.

Add the flour mixture from the medium bowl to the large bowl about 1/3 at a time. Continue adding and mixing the flour until blended completely. Using a tablespoon (or a regular spoon), form the dough into 1-inch balls and roll them in sugar. Place each ball about 2 inches apart on cookie sheet. Bake for about 12-15 minutes; the cookies should still be a little soft when you take them out.

Allow the cookies to cool for a few minutes on the cookie sheet before taking them off to cool completely.