Ginger Crinkles: sweet, unique, yummy cookies

My husband renamed my ginger crinkles "ginger doodles" because their sugar-crusted exterior looks somewhat similar to that of snickerdoodles.  Molasses and brown sugar gives these cookies a deep sweet flavor, while ground ginger adds a pleasing little spicy note.  They taste a lot like Christmas gingerbread, only richer and more complex.

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 large egg
1/2 cup canola oil
3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1/3 cup unsulfured molasses
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated white sugar

Directions

1.  Preheat the oven to 375 F.

2.  In a large bowl, thoroughly combine flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves.

3.  In a separate large bowl, mix the egg, oil, butter, molasses, and brown sugar with a stand mixer or handheld mixer, scraping the bowl with a spatula to fully combine.

4.  Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet, mixing on low speed to fully incorporate, and scraping the bowl occasionally.  (Tip:  A stand mixer is better for this step if you have one, otherwise, you may need to mix by hand to avoid burning out the hand mixer's motor.)

5.  Put the granulated sugar in a small bowl.

6.  Form the cookie dough into 1" to 1.5" balls, and roll them in the granulated sugar

7.  Place the balls 2-3" apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.  Do not flatten.  (Tip:  Use parchment paper on the cookie sheet for best results.)

8.  Bake the cookies for 10 minutes for a lightly chewy cookie, up to 12 minutes for a crispy cookie.

9.  Cool baked cookies for 5 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring them to a cooling rack.

Note:  these cookies will keep up to 5 days in a sealed container at room temperature.