Molasses Cookies
These Easy Molasses Cookies are soft and chewy with a rich molasses flavor. They’re also easy to make with simple ingredients and keep well at room temperature or in the freezer. Perfect for holiday gifting!
Try these molasses cookies if you need an easy cookie that is perfect for the holidays. They’re thick, soft, and chewy with cracked tops and so easy to make.
I’ve made these many times over the years, and there are a lot of reasons to love these cookies:
- Unique flavor: Molasses has a dark, slightly bitter flavor that adds depth and complexity to cookies. So molasses cookies are not cloyingly sweet like other Christmas cookies – they’re more complex and grown-up. Plus, the warm holiday spices make them very festive.
- Easy to make: This recipe is hard to mess up. So, if you need a last-minute cookie recipe, it’s a good one.
- They’re holiday-y! And who doesn’t love that? I love that you can make the dough ahead and freeze it. That way, you can bake as many as you want for cookie platters, gifts, and entertaining. I love one (or a few) with coffee or hot chocolate.
- Versatile: You can keep them plain or dress them up. I like to roll the balls in sugar before baking them, or you can add a simple glaze or icing so they look even more holiday-appropriate. Or skip all that – they’re delicious plain, too.
Ingredients
- Dry ingredients: all-purpose flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, and kosher salt.
- Wet ingredients: softened unsalted butter, granulated sugar, egg, and dark molasses (not blackstrap molasses).
- Coating: It’s optional, but you can roll each cookie dough ball in granulated sugar or coarse sugar before baking them.
How to Make Them
For the best cookies, mix the dry and wet ingredients separately and then combine them in one bowl. This makes it easy to make the dough without overworking it.
☑️Whisk the dry ingredients in a bowl.
☑️ Cream the softened butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Once the mixture is creamy, mix in the egg and then the molasses.
☑️ Scoop two tablespoons of the dough to form each cookie dough ball. Roll each ball in the sugar, if using, and place them on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.
☑️ Bake the cookies at 350°F until they are cracked on top and lightly browned on the bottom. They will take about 12 minutes or so. Leave the cookies on the sheet pan for a few minutes and then transfer them to a wire rack.
Storage Tips
Room temperature: Store the cooled cookies in an airtight container. They will keep for up to a week.
Freezer: You can freeze the cookies for a few months as long as they are wrapped and stored in a freeze bag or container. You can also freeze the cookie dough balls (my preference) – they will keep for up to three months. You can bake them from frozen, but you will need a few extra minutes of baking time.
Tips for the Best Chewy Molasses Cookies
- Use two bowls: I know, dishes -ugh! However, mixing the wet and dry ingredients separately prevents overmixing once you combine them. So, as tempting as it is, don’t dump everything in one bowl and mix.
- Use a cookie scoop: I love a cookie scoop because the cookies come out the same size without guessing.
- Don’t overbake them: Start with the lowest baking time and check on the cookies. They’re done once they are set around the edges and cracked on top. I like to take them out a little underdone and leave them on the baking sheet for a few minutes.
- Make ahead: The cookies are delicious once they’re cooled, but they’re even better the next day after the flavors have fully developed.
Molasses Cookies
If you need an easy cookie for the holidays, try these molasses cookies. They’re thick, soft, and chewy with cracked tops, and they’re so easy to make.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 16 cookies 1x
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1/3 cup dark molasses
- Extra granulated sugar or coarse sugar for rolling (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Whisk the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, and salt in a medium mixing bowl.
- Cream the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the egg and, once it’s incorporated, add the molasses.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on medium speed until the dough is combined.
- Scoop two tablespoons of the dough and roll it between your hands to form each dough ball. Roll each one in granulated sugar (if using) and place them on the prepared baking sheets. Place the balls two inches apart.
- Bake one baking sheet of cookies at a time for 12 to 14 minutes or until the cookies have cracked on top and are lightly browned on the bottom. Cool the cookies on the baking sheet before removing them. Repeat with the second baking sheet.
- Once the cookies are cooled to room temperature, store them in an airtight container at room temperature.
Notes
Wait to serve the cookies until they are cooled to room temperature. They’re even better the next day after the flavors have fully developed, and they’re chewier the next day, too.
Store the cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. They’ll keep for several days. Or, you can freeze the baked cookies for several months.
You can freeze the dough, too. I like to roll out the dough balls and freeze them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (about 30 minutes or so). Then, I transfer them to a freezer bag, and they’ll keep for several months. When you’re ready to bake some cookies, let them sit at room temperature while you preheat the oven. Bake them as instructed.
This recipe is lightly adapted from Bon Appetit
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 167
- Sugar: 13.6g
- Sodium: 48.1mg
- Fat: 6.2g
- Saturated Fat: 3.7g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2.1g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 26.5g
- Fiber: 0.6g
- Protein: 2.1g
- Cholesterol: 26.9mg
The nutrition is an estimate only. It was calculated using Nutrifox, an online nutrition calculator.
These are my favorite holiday cookies. . ever. .
Thanks Alice! I’ve already made 4 batches of them – they are definitely my new favorite holiday cookie!
These look amazing! Question, please: We get “fancy” (lighter) molasses and “blackstrap” (a really intense dark one). When you say “dark,” are you referring latter, which is almost black? Thanks!
The brand I always use is Grandma’s Original Molasses which is dark, but not a blackstrap molasses. Hope that helps!