Soft Molasses Cookies

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These soft and chewy Molasses Cookies are hands down my all time favorite Christmas Cookie!

Molasses Cookies from www.whatsgabycooking.com (@whatsgabycookin)

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!

Let’s talk 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!

Molasses Cookies from www.whatsgabycooking.com (@whatsgabycookin)

Molasses Cookies

5 from 16 votes
These perfectly soft and chewy Molasses Cookies are an absolute must-make for your holiday baking!
Prep Time 5 mins
Cook Time 12 mins
Total Time 17 mins
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 15 people

Ingredients
  

  • 3/4 cup unsalted butter melted
  • 1 cup white sugar, plus extra for rolling
  • 1 egg
  • 1/3 cup dark molasses
  • 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour (measured by scoop and leveling)
  • 2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1/2 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.

177 Comments

  1. How long can this dough keep in the refrigerator? I want to make a batch but it’s just me and my mom at home and it would be nice to bake as we want them.

  2. I’m pretty sure I’ve made these before and they were delish. Just tried them again and I totally botched them! I think i did 2 things wrong: I didn’t cool dough at all (Im impatient) will that wreck them?! Also I ran out of reg Flour so subbed about 3/4 cup with whole wheat. Maybe that was bad?! Anyways I froze half of the dough, maybe I can salvage the rest next time by adding a bit more reg flour?! I used black strap molasses and did exact amount of baking soda but mine did rise, and we’re a quite bitter tasting/black bottoms, lol sorry for the long post!

    1. chilling the dough is V important. And i don’t think the flour would have had THAT big of an affect on them.

    2. Kirsten, I had the same problem this year, except I intentionally used almond flour!…Gaby, I did not COVER and refrigerate, but I did refrigerate for an hour! Does not covering make a difference? Also think I might have made too large of balls, and maybe because of the almond flour, I wasn’t able to roll them in sugar… I did drizzle sugar on top though, but oh man, it was molassss mush haha. I feel so bad, these were my hubby’s favorite last year! lol

    3. almond flour def will not yield the same results as the way my recipe is written! Sorry – it’s not a 1:1 substitution!

      And chilling is important! Covered doesn’t really matter – but dough needs to be COLD before baking

  3. 5 stars
    I have made this recipe 3 times for a total of 12-15 dozen cookies. I used a Sorghum ( Fain’s Sorghum….found at http://www.fainshoney.com).

    I can honestly say that everyone that has tried them LOVES them and said ”One of the best cookies EVER”. My husband new favorite over chocolate chip!!!!

    Just gave them away in a goody platter for our neighbors for Christmas.

    Thank you and Merry Christmas

  4. 5 stars
    I baked these cookies twice today. I had the same issue as some others did with the first batch, very puffy and cake like. With the second batch, I cut 1/4 cup of flour and 1/2 tsp of baking soda and now they are perfectly chewy. The most delicious cookies I have ever tasted! Even my husband who has always claimed to not like molasses, can’t get enough of them 🙂

  5. 5 stars
    I come back to this recipe again and again and again. I think my family would disown me if I didn’t make them at Christmas. They are easy and fun to make as well. Absolutely perfect! Thanks Gaby! ❤️

  6. 5 stars
    These were incredible. I made them for a Christmas party and people flipped out. The molasses makes them special and festive and people will think you’re some exquisite baker when really you just like to read food blogs and occasionally make treats (speaking from experience).

  7. 5 stars
    Fantastic recipe! I have made these cookies many times and it is a family favorite. They are delicious and beautiful. The larger size is perfect! These make a great gift for neighbors at the holidays and even my 5 year old nephew cannot get enough! Thank you for this gem!!

  8. 5 stars
    Molasses Cookies are my adult son’s favorite. I bribe him with these when I need a visit. He will drop everything on his hectic schedule to see me when he knows I have these waiting for him. He is health conscious or I would make them daily. THIS is the best recipe I’ve found! THANK YOU for this no-fail treat!

  9. Hi!
    Just wondering if pomegranate molasses can be a thing here or if it’s something entirely different.
    Thanks for your all your recipes!

  10. I’ve used a recipe using room temp butter not melted and went straight from mixing to oven without needing to refrigerate. The dough did not need it. This dough is so thick and malleable with room temp butter as long as it isnt over worked causing it to naturally heat up, I’ve never had an issue. I’m going to try it with melted butter as I dont have time today to wait for butter to come to room temp and I dont fast track it

  11. 5 stars
    Excellent recipe! I used one full cup of butter, increased flour by 1/4 cup. The cookies came out beautifully, tender, chewy, and full of flavor. This recipe is a keeper! Thank you!

  12. Great cookie recipe! I used Steen’s cane syrup instead of molasses. After chilling the dough I rolled it out to 1/4″ (on a floured surface with a floured rolling pin) and cut out gingerbread men. (One recipe made 24 gingerbread men) I froze the sheets of cut cookies while the batch before baked to keep the shapes. Worked great!

  13. 5 stars
    With all the great reviews, I knew immediately I needed to double this recipe when making. I have yet to give any to my friends, however it is already a huge hit with me and my husband who formerly only liked super simple chocolate chip cookies. After chilling for a little over an hour, I made the first two trays putting 8-9 cookies on each large baking sheet. They spread way more than I expected, and ran all into each other, but still tasted great. So I kept the rest in fridge to chill overnight, and baked the rest off this afternoon. I only put 6 cookies on each tray at a time, several inches apart. They baked to literally the perfect size and shape, each batch. Perfection. Will make this again and again. Thanks so much, Gaby!

  14. I found your molasses cookie recipe on YouTube. I need to bake 10 dozen cookies. When I print the recipe, how many people should I put into the conversion generator to yield 120 cookies?

  15. 5 stars
    These are fantastic! Amazing if you follow the recipe and delicious dipping them in dark chocolate and letting them cool to create a hard chocolate shell on half the cookie. Pretty sure these will forever be in my Christmas cookie repertoire. Thanks Gaby!

  16. I made these last year and they turned out great! This year mine are flat as pancakes ☹️ They still taste good, but I was planning to give some to neighbors and they don’t look great. It’s warm and humid here in TX this week – any tips to make them spread out less? I chilled the dough overnight with the second half of the dough the second half of the dough but they’re still spreading too much. Any suggestions?

  17. 5 stars
    I’ve tried many molasses ginger cookie recipes & THIS is my all time favorite! Definitely a keeper! Thank you Gaby

  18. 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!

    1. 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

  19. 5 stars
    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.

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