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Soft and chewy molasses cookies, a holiday favorite. There’s nothing quite like a warm, spicy aroma of freshly baked molasses cookies. These soft and chewy cookies, with their crackly sugar-coated tops, are the epitome of holiday baking. They are infused with ginger, cinnamon, and cloves, which bring a nostalgic warmth to the season. Perfect for cookie swaps, holiday parties, or a cozy treat by the fire, these molasses cookies are bound to become a favorite tradition in your home.
The Chemistry of Molasses Cookies
Creating the perfect molasses cookie is all about balancing flavor, texture, and spice. Here’s how this recipe achieves those crackly tops and chewy centers.
- The Role of Molasses – Molasses adds a deep, rich flavor and keeps the cookies moist and chewy. Using unsulfured molasses ensures a robust but not overpowering flavor.
- Butter and Brown Sugar—Creaming unsalted butter with brown sugar creates the soft texture and subtle caramel flavor that make these cookies irresistible.
- Warm Spices – Ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg work together to create a cozy, well-rounded spice profile, reminiscent of gingerbread.
- Chilling the Dough – Resting the dough in the refrigerator for 3 hours allows the flavors to meld and ensures the cookies hold their shape during baking.
- Sugar Coating – Rolling the dough in granulated sugar before baking creates the signature crackly tops and adds a touch of sweetness with every bite.
Ingredients You Need for Chewy Molasses Cookies
Unsalted Butter
It is always important to use unsalted butter when baking. If you use salted butter, you have no way of knowing how much salt you are adding to your dough or batter and it will result in an overly salted treat.
Butter adds fats to your dough or batter which helps with moistness, flavor and texture. Butter melts at body temperature, which creates a ‘melt in your mouth’ sensation.
When baking with butter, the temperature is important. If the butter is too warm, your treat will melt too fast and overspread in the oven, leaving you with a greasy, flat mess. If your butter is too cold, it will have the opposite problem and not melt down enough, leaving your treat too thick.
Granulated Sugar
Adds sweetness, provides a caramelized flavor and crisp texture. Sugar assists with rising when creamed with butter. It helps add moisture to your treat and helps it evenly spread as it melts into a liquid in the heat of the oven. Sugar also helps with naturally preserving your baked treat.
Brown Sugar
Is granulated sugar with a little molasses mixed in. Molasses is a somewhat smoky flavored natural sweetener, which makes brown sugar a bit sweeter than granulated sugar. Brown sugar draws more moisture into your treat, keeping it softer for longer. It’s also more acidic, which means it will help activate your baking soda.
Molasses
Is a natural sweetener with a distinct tangy flavor. Molasses is able to absorb water, which adds more moisture into your baked treat. Not only it will help your treat have an extended shelf life, it also keep it soft and chewy for longer.
Eggs
Adds both a protein (egg whites) and fat (egg yolks). The egg whites help with rising because, when foamed, little air pockets get trapped inside the egg white mixture. The water content in egg whites encourages steam while baking, which helps with gluten formation, resulting in nice and thick treats. Egg yolks have emulsifying properties that bring batters and doughs together and help them from collapsing. Unless otherwise specified, always use large eggs.
Vanilla Extract
When using pure vanilla extract, as opposed to imitation flavoring, it will add the deep rich flavor that everybody wants in a treat.
All-purpose Flour
Builds structure as it absorbs liquids and expands. All-purpose flour falls in the middle of bread flour (high in gluten) and cake flour (low in gluten). It’s exactly what it is named, all-purpose, the most universal flour that can be used in most baked goods.
Baking Soda
Elevates the pH level of your batter or dough. It increases the spread in your treat and encourages browning, which gives the crispy outside and soft inside texture that everyone loves. Baking soda needs both an acid and a liquid to react. Things that will activate your baking soda are: vinegar, fruit juice, molasses, brown sugar, tartar, buttermilk and sour cream. Baking soda only reacts once, which is right when it’s mixed into your batter or dough. The soda creates little air bubbles all throughout your treat. When the air bubbles get heated up in the oven, they expand.
Spices
Ground Ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg create the warm, spiced flavor characteristic of molasses cookies.
Fine Sea Salt
Enhances flavor, adds balance, masks any bitter flavors. Salt is the most powerful and oldest preservative. Always make sure to use fine sea salt so it melts down at the right speed in the heat of the oven. If you use larger granule salt, it will not melt down fully when baked and will leave salt crystals throughout your treat, making it crunch like you dropped it into sand. All of my favorite salts are from Redmond and I have a discount code for you to get 15% off.
How to Make Chewy Molasses Cookies (Step by step)
Cookie Dough
- Cream the butter and sugar. In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, combine 1 cup of unsalted butter, 1 cup of light brown sugar, and 1/2 cup of granulated sugar. Mix on low speed until the ingredients are combined, then whip on medium-high speed for 2+ minutes, until the mixture is light in color and fluffy in texture. If necessary, you can use a large bowl and electric mixer instead of a stand mixer.
- Incorporate Wet Ingredients. Add 3 eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and 3/4 cup molasses, mixing until fully combined.
- Mix the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together 4 cups all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt, 2 teaspoons ginger, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon cloves, and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg.
- Combine wet and dry mixtures. Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture. Mix just until the dough comes together.
- Chill the dough. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, or overnight for deeper flavor.
Bake the Cookies
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F—line large baking sheets or a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Form the cookies. Scoop the dough into 1 1/2 tablespoon-sized balls using a cookie scoop. Roll each ball in granulated sugar until fully coated.
- Bake. Place the dough balls on the prepared baking sheets, spacing them 2 inches apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes until the tops are no longer shiny and the edges are set.
- Cool. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Chewy Ginger Molasses Cookies Storage Tips
Room Temperature – Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Freezing – Freeze baked cookies or raw dough balls for up to 3 months. Thaw dough balls overnight in the fridge before baking.
Transporting Tips – Place cookies in a sturdy container, layering with parchment paper to prevent sticking or breaking.
Making Cookies in Advance
Dough – Prepare the dough up to 3 days in advance and store it in the refrigerator until ready to bake.
Cookies – Bake the cookies ahead of time and freeze them for more extended storage.
Recommended Products
What type of molasses should I use?
Use unsulfured dark molasses for the best flavor. Blackstrap molasses is too bitter for cookies, while light molasses may not provide enough depth of flavor.
How do I keep molasses cookies soft?
Avoid over baking the cookies; they should appear just set and no longer shiny when removed from the oven. Store them in an airtight container to retain their softness.
Can I freeze molasses cookie dough?
Yes! Roll the dough into balls, place them on a baking sheet, and freeze. Once solid, transfer to a freezer-safe bag. Bake from frozen, adding 1-2 minutes to the baking time.
Can I make these cookies gluten-free?
Yes, substitute the all-purpose flour with a 1:1 gluten-free baking mix for similar results. Ensure the mix contains xanthan gum for structure.
A Nostalgic Treat for the Holiday Season
Molasses cookies are a holiday staple in our home. These are my favorite cookies every December, sharing them with friends and family as a part of my holiday baking marathon. The aroma of molasses and warm spices never fails to put me in the festive spirit. My kids (and husband) will sneak into the kitchen to steal a cookie fresh from the oven. We all savor its chewy center and perfectly spiced flavor.
These soft and chewy molasses cookies are the epitome of holiday comfort. Their spiced flavor, chewy texture, and sweet sugar coating make them a delightful addition to any cookie platter (speaking of cookie platter you should also add peppermint cookies and chocolate chip cookies). Whether you’re baking for friends, family, or just yourself, these cookies will surely bring warmth and joy to the season. Happy baking!
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Soft and Chewy Molasses Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar + some for coating
- 3 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup molasses
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 2 tsp ginger
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp cloves
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
Instructions
- In a standing mixer with the paddle attachment, add 1 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, and 1 cup unsalted butter and mix on low speed until it is combined. Then whip on medium-high speed for 2+ minutes until lighter in color and fluffier in texture
- Fold in 3 whole eggs & 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Add in 3/4 cup unsulfured molasses and mix until combined
- In a separate bowl, combine all the dry ingredients (4 cups all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons soda, 1/2 fine sea salt, 2 teaspoons ground ginger, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon cloves, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg)
- Turn the standing mixer on low speed and slowly pour in the dry ingredients. Mix just until the dough comes together. Do not over-mix the dough.
- Cover mixer bowl and place dough in the fridge to rest for 3 hours
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
- Remove the dough from the fridge and scoop out large 1 1/2 tablespoon sized cookie dough balls. Roll each ball in granulated sugar until fully coated
- Place on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes until the cookies no longer look shiny
- Leave on the pan for 10 minutes before removing to finish cooling. Remove and enjoy!
Nutrition
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