These soft and chewy Molasses Cookies are hands down my all time favorite Christmas Cookie! Every year they are the crowd favorite from my Christmas Cookie Roundup.
Table of Contents
Why I Love This Recipe
These Molasses Cookies come from my mom - who I think got the recipe from my her mom and she probably got it from her mom. Who knows. Either way - these Molasses Cookies are perfection. The dough comes together quickly, chills in the fridge to harden it up, and then rolled into balls and coated in sugar before baking. The result is a perfectly soft and chewy molasses cookie that you'll totally love!
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Unsalted Butter – I like to use unsalted butter when baking to control the amount of salt I add to the recipe. Make sure your butter is at room temperature before creaming it together with the sugars to yield the best results.
- White Sugar– White sugar helps aerate the cookies when creamed with the butter to create tiny air pockets for a crispier cookie.
- Egg – Use large eggs at room temperature. If they're straight from the fridge, they will make the butter seize and won't combine evenly.
- Dark Molasses – Some people might tell you that you can substitute other ingredients like Maple Syrup, Cane Syrup or Sorghum Syrup, but there really isn't anything else that compares to the flavor of molasses. It's carried at almost every grocery store so it's easy to come by, and it keeps for years in the pantry!
- All-Purpose Flour – Measured by scoop and leveling.
- Baking Soda – For leavening, texture, flavor, and browning.
- Spices – I like using a combination of cinnamon, ground cloves, and ground ginger.
*For full list of ingredients and instructions please see recipe card at the bottom of the post.
How to Make Molasses Cookies
Step 1: In a large stand mixer combine the butter, sugar, egg and molasses. Mix for a minute or two until well combined.
Step 2: Slowly add the flour mixture and mix until evenly combined. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Step 3: Once chilled, scoop 2 tablespoons of dough at a time and roll into balls.
Step 4: Roll them around in a small cup of sugar and set onto a parchment lined baking sheet.
Step 5: After baking remove from the oven and transfer the cookies onto a cooling rack to cool.
Step 6: Store any leftover Molasses Cookies in the freezer. This way they stay fresh even longer!
The in's and outs of Molasses Cookies!
- What does molasses do for cookies?
- Molasses makes baked goods extra soft so these cookies stay chewy even longer!
- What's a good substitute for molasses?
- Some people might tell you that you can substitute other ingredients like Maple Syrup, Cane Syrup or Sorghum Syrup, but there really isn't anything else that compares to the flavor of molasses. It's carried at almost every grocery store so it's easy to come by, and it keeps for years in the pantry!
- How do you store molasses cookies?
- My family has been storing them in the freezer since I was a kid. I'll take out as many as I need an hour or so before I plan on eating them and let them come to room temp. This way they stay fresh even longer! You can also nuke them in the microwave for 10 seconds when they come out of the freezer to speed the process up
- Should I use light or dark molasses?
- For baking - always use dark molasses!
So whip up a double batch of these and store them in the freezer for the next few weeks while you’re prepping for the holidays! Grab a few when you’re sweet tooth strikes and warm them up a bit in the microwave just so you can pretend you’re eating a cooking fresh outta the oven. They are pure perfection - I promise!
If you tried this recipe, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting today!
Molasses Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
- ¾ cup unsalted butter melted
- 1 cup white sugar, plus extra for rolling
- 1 egg
- ⅓ cup dark molasses
- 2 ¼ cups all purpose flour (measured by scoop and leveling)
- 2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon powdered ginger
Instructions
- In a large stand mixer combine the butter, sugar, egg and molasses. Mix for a minute or two until well combined.
- Combine the flour, cloves, ginger cinnamon and baking soda and sift together.
- Slowly add the flour mixture to the molasses mixture and mix until evenly combined. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Once chilled, scoop 2 tablespoons of dough at a time and roll into balls. Roll them around in a small cup of sugar and set onto a parchment lined baking sheet.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and transfer the cookies onto a cooling rack to cool.
Notes
- What does molasses do for cookies?
- Molasses makes baked goods extra soft so these cookies stay chewy even longer!
- What’s a good substitute for molasses?
- Some people might tell you that you can substitute other ingredients like Maple Syrup, Cane Syrup or Sorghum Syrup, but there really isn’t anything else that compares to the flavor of molasses. It’s carried at almost every grocery store so it’s easy to come by, and it keeps for years in the pantry!
- How do you store molasses cookies?
- My family has been storing them in the freezer since I was a kid. I’ll take out as many as I need an hour or so before I plan on eating them and let them come to room temp. This way they stay fresh even longer! You can also nuke them in the microwave for 10 seconds when they come out of the freezer to speed the process up
- Should I use light or dark molasses?
- For baking – always use dark molasses!
I made these for Thanksgiving and my family live them now they are asking me for the recipe..
Hi Gaby, these sound so good and I’d love to try them with what I currently have on hand; can I use whole wheat pastry flour? Would I just need to add some baking powder or soda?
I haven't tested them with ww pastry flour - the protein ratio is very different so I can't say the result will be the same.
Hello Gaby,
Maldon Sea Salt is listed under equipment but I don't see where you need it anywhere in the recipe. Perhaps I missed it?
dusting on top before baking!! great catch thank you
These cookies are fantastic made of exactly as a recipe said, and they came out perfectly great recipe
Absolutely Wonderful!
Everyone loves these cookies when I make and I make them a lot- for friends, for kids to bring into school, cookies exchanges. Easy to make and absolutely delicious.
What is the secret to not having them turn out flat? Follow your instructions to exactly and they are definitely the best molasses cookie I've ever made and believe me I've made a lot. I've looked over every one of your reviews and I just can't find the answer on your recipe. you don't give grams but you just say scoop and level which we did. It sounds like it's supposed to be 120 g per cup from a different review. Is there another secret? We refrigerated for two hours. Hands down tasting cookie ever. We love you Gaby!
Hi! Just mixed the cookie dough (which looks and smells fantastic!), but I wanted to be sure there wasn't anything missing; I've always had "salt" listed as an ingredient in other cookie recipes, but didn't see it in the list nor the directions. Thought I'd check just to be sure!
you can add it - but we never add it to this one for some reason! just the way my fam did it!
Can I use King Syrup instead of molasses?
Never tried it!
I have a similar family recipe, but instead of all butter, it's a mix of butter....and bacon grease!!! So good, will be trying this recipe with the same mix! 🙂
Followed the recipe exactly and, as usual, Gaby did not disappoint!! Thank you for another easy and delicious holiday cookie recipe!
Holy moly these cookies are so good and so easy! And they make the house smell amazing as they’re baking.
Really love these cookies! Perfectly chewy and delicious.
I rarely leave recipe reviews and need to get better about it, but I just had to share how amazing these cookies are!
My mom and I have a few go-to cookie recipes we make every holiday season and we also always throw one "new" recipe into the mix. After making these molasses cookies over Christmas this year, they were such a hit, we made another batch over New Year's, and this recipe will definitely be added to our regular rotation! The perfect blend of soft and chewy and I love how they sparkle a bit from the sugar coating.
Thank you for the recipe- mine spread out and while chewy out of the oven they didn’t stay that way after cooking. I weighed the flour (120 grams/cup). Any thoughts about why they spread and lost their chewiness? Thanks!
I'm unsure 120 grams is the correct weighted measured for scoop and level. So it sounds like there wasn't enough flour with the conversion