Soft and chewy molasses cookies are easy to make and even easier to eat. These perfectly spicy cookies with crinkly tops taste like Christmas!
Super soft Molasses Cookies
My soft and chewy ginger snaps have been a fan favorite year-round for the last few years. They remind me of Christmas but they are great any time of year.
These spicy ginger molasses cookies are very similar – my friend said they taste like love and Christmas.
Many molasses cookies are made with shortening, but I like to use butter. It gives them a really rich flavor and the brown sugar keeps them super soft and chewy.
Ingredients you’ll need
Below is a list of the ingredients you’ll need to gather to make this recipe. Scroll all the way down for the full recipe card.
- Butter – Unsalted butter, softened to room temperature.
- Brown Sugar – Helps adds to the softness of the cookies.
- Egg – Just one large egg.
- Molasses – I like to use Grandma’s Molasses.
- Flour – All purpose white flour.
- Baking Soda – Helps to give the cookies rise.
- Salt – For balance.
- Cinnamon – Try to use a high quality cinnamon for the best flavor.
- Cloves – Cloves pair perfectly with cinnamon & ginger to create spicy warmth.
- Ginger – To round out the spices.
- Sugar – Granulated white sugar to roll the dough balls in.
Equipment you’ll need
- Mixing Bowls – I like the grippy bottom so they don’t slide around.
- Silicone Spatulas – I use these for EVERYTHING.
- Medium Cookie Scoop – I can never go back to pre-cookie scoop life.
- Lipped Baking Sheets – I like my baking sheets to have a lip so no cookie dough balls hit the ground!
How to make soft & chewy Molasses Cookies
- STEP ONE: In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and egg. Stir in the molasses.
- STEP TWO: In another medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and ginger.
- STEP THREE: Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and stir to combine.
- STEP FOUR: Chill the dough for at least an hour.
- STEP FIVE: Use a medium cookie scoop to portion out the dough and then roll in granulated sugar to coat. Place 12 onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat and bake for 8-10 minutes at 375° F.
What does molasses do in cookies?
Using molasses in cookies gives them their beautiful brown color and adds to the soft and chewy texture.
Which molasses is best for cookies?
I like to use Grandma’s Molasses. It’s easy to find at the market and is made with sugarcane molasses that is unsulfured and it doesn’t have preservative or artificial colors (pet peeve of mine – don’t add color to things that don’t need colors!).
The combination of molasses and brown sugar is what helps make these cookies so soft and chewy.
Can I freeze them?
Yes, you can freeze these cookies. I like to fully prep the dough and then cover with plastic wrap and move them to the freezer on a baking sheet.
Once they’re fully frozen, move the dough balls to a freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months. You can bake from frozen. Cookies on demand!
Need more cookie recipes? Try these:
Oatmeal Molasses Chocolate Chip Cookies
Brown Butter Chocolate Caramel Cookies
Crisp Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
Fiesta Fudge Cookies
Amish Sugar Cookies
Click here to view my entire collection of cookie recipes.
Soft & Chewy Molasses Cookies
Ingredients
- ¾ cup unsalted butter softened to room temp
- 1 cup brown sugar packed
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup unsulphered molasses
- 2 cups all purpose white flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teasoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ cup granulated white sugar for rolling
Instructions
- To a large mixing bowl, add the butter, brown sugar, and egg and cream with a hand mixer until smooth. Stir in the molasses.
- To a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and ginger.
- Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and stir to fully combine. Cover with plastic wrap and let chill for at least an hour.
- When ready, preheat the oven to 375 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- Also, pour some granulated white sugar into a small bowl or plate to roll the dough balls in.
- Use a cookie scoop to portion out 1" balls of chilled dough. Roll the dough balls in the white sugar and place on the pan. 12 balls per pan, evenly spaced.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes or until just crisp on the edges.
- Remove from the oven and let cool on the rack before enjoying!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimate and provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying/pasting and/or screenshots of full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Content and photographs are copyright protected.
I accidentally over baked mine (I did a couple minutes more than the recipe states) and burned the bottoms which was my mistake. Besides that, the consistency and flavor of these cookies were very good 🙂 I will be trying again to get them perfect next time.
I’m glad the deliciousness still came through! Thanks for reporting back =)
Super easy, very tasty & perfectly soft & chewy. Everyone that had one/some approved or asked for the recipe!
Love hearing that – thank you!
I only have salted butter. How much should I cut down on salt in the recipe??
I don’t, I use both often 🙂 but you can take it down by 1/4 tsp.
A delicious mix of crisp on the edges and chewy in the middle. Perfect amount of spice. Chilling the dough is mandatory as it is a soft dough so I recommend chilling overnight. I didn’t have enough butter so used 2/3 shortening and 1/3 butter. Still delicious and great texture (chewy and not hard and crunchy).
Thank you, Laurel!