This soft, chewy, fragrant molasses cookie recipe is the ultimate cozy cookie!
These melt-in-your-mouth, hand held treats are perfect for a chilly day and taste even better dipped in warm milk or cocoa!
Ginger molasses cookies are a must-have at any cookie exchange along with some shortbread or snowball cookies!
A Soft Chewy Cookie!
- Easy recipe! This is the one and only old-fashioned molasses cookie recipe you’ll ever need! It has simple ingredients and even simpler steps!
- Quick baking! Moist, chewy, and flavorful, they’re ready in less than 30 minutes!
- Freezer-friendly! Make an extra batch of cookie dough balls and freeze whenever you want to bake up a sweet treat!
Ingredients and Variations
Molasses – Dark or “blackstrap” molasses brings the boldest flavor to molasses cookies, but light molasses or even dark corn syrup will work in a pinch!
Dough – Shortening and real butter are the best combo to get that classic texture: soft on the inside and just a little crisp on the edges. For a gluten-free cookie, refer to the package conversion on your favorite gluten-free baking blend.
Spices – This recipe is all about the warm and fragrant spices! Besides ginger and cinnamon, a pinch of allspice or cardamom gives them an extra heavenly aroma!
How to Make Molasses Cookies
So easy to make, even little chefs can help out!
- Cream shortening and sugar together. Add egg and beat until fluffy.
- Stir in molasses.
- Whisk dry ingredients together.
- Add the dry to the molasses mixture.
- Roll dough balls into sugar and bake (per recipe below). Cool completely before enjoying.
Tips for the Best Molasses Cookies!
- Room-temperature eggs and butter will whip up effortlessly every time!
- Measure out the flour by spooning the flour into the measuring cup and not scooping from the bag of flour directly, which often leads to too much flour in the recipe (and tougher cookies).
- This recipe benefits from thorough mixing so all the spices get evenly distributed in the dough.
- A 1 ½” cookie scoop will produce perfectly round cookies!
- Roll the cookies in Turbinado sugar instead of granulated. Turbinado (or its similar Demerara) sugar has large, brown crystals which impart a rich molasses flavor. The larger crystals reflect more light and make the cookies ‘sparkle!’
- Molasses cookies can burn very quickly. It’s better to take them out of the oven a tad early so they stay chewy inside than risk the flavor of over-baked molasses.
Simple Storage Solutions
Store molasses cookies in a zippered bag at room temperature with a slice of bread inside to absorb moisture caused by temperature changes. They’ll stay fresh for about two weeks. Or freeze the baked and cooled cookies for up to one month and pop one into a lunchbox or briefcase for a sweet surprise!
More Tasty Treats To Try!
Have you tried this Molasses Cookie Recipe? Leave a comment and rating below!
Molasses Cookies
Ingredients
- ¾ cup margarine or shortening
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup molasses light or dark
- 1 egg
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350˚F.
- In a large bowl, cream shortening and sugar until smooth. Add egg and beat until fluffy.
- Stir in molasses until completely combined.
- In a small bowl, whisk dry ingredients together.
- Add dry ingredients to molasses mixture just until incorporated.
- Scoop about 1 tablespoon of dough and roll into a ball. Gently roll in sugar and place on an un-greased cookie sheet.
- Bake for 8-9 minutes. Cool for 2 minutes on cookie sheet before moving to cooling rack.
Notes
- Use room-temperature eggs and butter for easier blending and even baking.
- Sprinkle flour into measuring cup, then level off for the perfect amount of flour.
- Use a 1 ½” cookie scoop for evenly sized and perfectly round cookies!
- Do not overbake the cookies!
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
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REPIN this Molasses Cookie Recipe
This is an old fashioned recipe my grandmother used to bake
Itโs outstanding taste using backstrap molasses
Thank you so much, Robyn!