Step 1

Stir together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and black pepper.

Step 2

In the bowl of an electric mixer, or by hand, beat the butter just until soft and fluffy. Add the sugar and continue to beat until smooth, stopping the mixer to scrape down any butter clinging to the sides of the bowl.

Step 3

Stir in the vanilla, molasses and egg.

Step 4

Mix in the dry ingredients gradually until the dough is smooth.

Step 5

Divide the dough in two equal portions and roll each on a lightly-floured surface until each is about 2-inches (5cm) around. Don’t worry if they’re not perfect; you can neaten them up in a second.

Step 6

Wrap each in plastic wrap then roll them lightly on the counter to smooth them out. Refrigerate, or better yet, freeze the cookie logs until firm.

Step 7

To bake, preheat the oven to 350F (180C) and line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.

Step 8

Slice cookie dough into 1/4-inch (a scant 1 cm) rounds with a sharp knife. Dip one side and press firmly in a bowl of coarse sugar if you want (you can also use granulated sugar instead), and place sugar-side up on baking sheet, evenly-spaced apart. Leave a couple of inches, about 5 cm, between cookies since they’ll spread while baking.

Step 9

Bake for 10-14 minutes, rotating the baking sheets midway during baking, until deep-golden brown. The cookies will puff up a bit while baking, then settle down when they’re done. Bake on the lower end of the range for softer cookies, and more for snappier ones, depending on your oven.

Step 10

Let the cookies cool two minutes, then remove them with a spatula and transfer them to a cooling rack.