Molasses Cookies
The holidays were made for irresistible cookies and there’s none better than these soft, perfectly spiced, easy-to-make Molasses Cookies!
Why We Love Molasses Cookies
- Soft molasses cookies bring the smell and taste of the holidays and it’s everyone’s favorite Christmas cookie!
- The simple ingredients needed for this recipe make baking them a breeze and there’s no additional chill time for the dough so you can mix, bake and eat them quickly.
- Old fashioned molasses cookies are perfect for gifting to friends and family, and pretty much a must-have for cookie swaps!
- There’s nothing better during the holidays than carrying on or starting a tradition, so baking these cookies with your family is a wonderful way to make memories every year.
Ingredients You’ll Need to Make Molasses Cookies
PANTRY ITEMS: For these cookies, you will need all-purpose flour, brown sugar, and granulated sugar, as well as baking soda and unsulfured molasses.
REFRIGERATED ITEMS: Set out salted butter to soften and be sure to grab an egg.
SPICES: You will need ginger, cinnamon, and allspice for this recipe as well as a little salt.
COATING: You will need cinnamon and sugar in a separate bowl to roll the balls of cookie dough in.
How to Make Molasses Cookies
Jump to RecipeSTEP 1 Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or grease it with non-stick spray. Then set the pan aside for now. Beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar in a stand mixer, or large mixing bowl with a hand mixer, until it’s fluffy. Stir in the eggs and molasses.
STEP 2 In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, allspice and salt. then add this to the wet ingredients. Mix the dough until just combined.
STEP 3 In a small bowl, whisk together the cinnamon and sugar. Form 2-inch balls of dough and roll them through the sugar mixture. Place the dough balls on the cookie sheet about 2 inches apart (they will spread).
STEP 4 Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes, until cracks appear. Allow the cookies to cool for 3 minutes before moving them to a cooling rack.
Tips & Tricks
- There’s no need to chill the dough before baking, which is a huge time saver! Taking the time to chill the dough helps to prevent the cookies from spreading while baking, but this recipe doesn’t have that problem. If you need to chill the dough until you are ready to make the cookies you can pop it in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 2 days. Then remove the dough from the fridge when you’re ready to bake and follow the recipe as written.
- Adding small pieces of candied ginger/crystalized ginger brings a zinging pop of flavor to these cookies! Candied ginger is a sweetened, chewy version of ginger so you get all of that wonderful ginger flavor but in more of a candy form!
- Feel free to use coarse sugar in the cinnamon-sugar coating so that you get more sugar crunch from each bite.
- Once the cookies have cooled completely they can be stored in an airtight container on the counter for up to 1 week. To freeze the cookies, place them in a freezer food storage bag and freeze them for 3-6 months. You can also place parchment paper between the cookies so they stay separated and last longer while being stored… you how things get jostled in the freezer!
Molasses Cookies FAQ
What does molasses do to cookies?
Molasses has a long history here in the United States and was used much more frequently during Colonial times than it is today. Molasses is still widely popular, but it’s used for fewer recipes than it was then, while still being an essential ingredient around the holidays!
Adding molasses to cookies and breads brings a wonderful depth of flavors, such as a deep, caramel sugar flavor, as well as the soft chewiness that molasses cookies are known for. Light molasses is great for sweeter treats. Dark molasses is more versatile and therefore perfect for sweet treats, breads, and savory recipes. Blackstrap molasses, which is both sweet and bitter, is best suited for savory dishes like baked beans or a meat marinade.
What’s the difference between gingerbread and molasses cookies?
There are a few, small differences when it comes to molasses and gingerbread cookies. Both cookies use molasses but there is traditionally more ginger used in gingerbread cookies.
The main difference is that both gingersnap and gingerbread cookies are crispier than molasses cookies, and therefore much thinner.
Molasses cookies have a thicker, chewier texture. Whereas gingerbread is thinner, crispy on the outside, and only lightly chewy on the inside.
Gingerbread is usually rolled out to make gingerbread people and other festive shapes around the holidays, but molasses cookies are not, they’re a drop cookie.
Why are my molasses cookies not cracking?
Having cracked cookies is a good thing. Those little cracked roads provide a little crunch while the pockets of air in the dough steam the middle perfectly, giving you one heck of a fluffy, soft cookie.
If your cookies didn’t crack here are some things to check:
- Was the oven well preheated? Starting the preheating process well before you’re ready to bake means that the oven is completely heated and will bake the goods more evenly.
- Make sure to beat the butter and sugar until it’s fluffy. This will create those pockets of air your cookie needs.
- Don’t overmix the dough once the dry ingredients are added. The more you mix, the more the gluten is activated and will create a tougher dough. Tough dough makes it hard for the steam to escape, which is where the cracks come from. Mix the ingredients until everything is just combined and you will bake some great cookies!
Other Recipes You May like
- Eggnog Thumbprint Cookies
- Cinnamon Spritz Sandwich Cookies
- Chocolate Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies
- Peanut Butter Cookies
- White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
Molasses Cookies
Ingredients
Cookies
- ¾ cup salted butter at room temperature
- 1 cup light brown sugar packed
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- ⅓ cup molasses (unsulfured)
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice (see note)
Cinnamon Sugar Coating
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or grease with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter, brown sugar, and sugar until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the egg and molasses to the bowl and mix until evenly combined.
- In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and allspice. Pour this mixture into the wet ingredients and mix until just combined.
- In a small bowl, stir together the sugar and cinnamon for the coating. Use a cookie scoop to portion the dough and roll it into 2-inch balls. Roll the dough balls in the cinnamon sugar mixture until coated and place them on the lined baking sheet 2 inches apart. (They will spread.)
- Bake for 8-10 minutes or until cracks have formed and the edges are golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and let cool on the pan for 3 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- If you don’t have salted butter on hand, add and extra 1⁄4 teaspoon of salt to the dry ingredients.
- Need an allspice substitute? Combine 1 3⁄4 teaspoons ground cinnamon with 1⁄2 teaspoon ground nutmeg, and a pinch of ground cloves. You’ll have more than you need for this recipe.
Nutrition
All nutritional information is based on third party calculations and is only an estimate. Each recipe and nutritional value will vary depending on the brands you use, measuring methods and portion sizes per household.