Ingredients: – 4 tablespoons raw (turbinado) sugar, divided – ¾ cup whole wheat pastry flour* – ⅓ cup whole wheat flour – ½ teaspoon baking soda – ⅛ teaspoon salt – 6 tablespoons (¾ stick) unsalted butter – ¾ teaspoon cinnamon – ¾ teaspoon ground ginger – ¼ teaspoon ground clove – ⅛ teaspoon ground allspice – ⅛ teaspoon ground pepper (a couple of twists’ worth) – ¼ cup light or dark molasse
Instructions: 1. With an oven rack in the middle position, preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Pour 1 tablespoon of raw sugar into a small, shallow dish for rolling. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, baking soda, and salt.
In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in the cinnamon, ginger, cloves, allspice, and pepper. Cook until fragrant, about 1 to 2 minutes.
Transfer the butter mixture to a large bowl and let cool slightly. Whisk the remaining 3 tablespoons raw sugar, brown sugar, egg yolk, vanilla, and molasses into the melted butter mixture. Stir in the flour mixture until combined.
Use a cookie dough scoop or spoons to scoop out about one tablespoon of dough at a time. Lightly shape into a ball and dunk half the cookie into the small bowl of raw sugar.
Place each cookie on the baking sheet, sugar side up, leaving a couple of inches around each cookie.
Bake the cookies until the edges are set but the centers are still soft, puffy, and underdone, which will take 9 to 12 minutes.
Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for ten minutes, then serve warm or transfer to a cooling rack.