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The best Molasses Cookies are soft and chewy with a crackly top, a light dusting of sugar, and plenty of warm spices and love baked right in the dough.
My grandma made old-fashion molasses cookies every Christmas without fail because they were my grandpa’s favorite. And when they’re done right, Molasses Cookies could wind up being everyone’s favorite.
My favorite Molasses Cookies are soft and chewy, not hard and brittle, and sparkling from a dusting of sugar. The combination of cinnamon, ginger, and cloves pair perfectly with the molasses, making the perfect blast-from-the past cookie that deserves a spot on all your future Christmas cookie plates.
Table of Contents
Recipe ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
Ingredient notes
- Molasses: Look for light molasses (as opposed to blackstrap). It has the lightest color and mildest, sweetest flavor of all the kinds of molasses.
Step-by-step instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt. Set aside. In a standing mixer fit with the paddle attachment on medium speed, or with an electric mixer, beat butter, brown sugar, and shortening until smooth. Add molasses and egg and beat until combined.
- Reduce speed to low and gradually add flour mixture. Cover and chill at least 2 hours or up to 3 days in advance.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats. Place sugar in a shallow dish for rolling. Roll dough into 1 1/2-inch balls, toss in sugar, and arrange at least 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Flatten with a glass.
- Bake until the edges are set, about 8 to 12 minutes.
- Transfer to wire racks and cool completely.
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: This recipe makes about 36 Molasses Cookies.
- Storage: Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks. Or, if you live in a cold climate, store them in your cold garage or patio indefinitely.
- Make ahead: The dough can be made up to 3 days in advance (and performs best when it’s cold).
- Freezer: Form the dough into a disk, then label, date, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Roll the dough balls in sugar just before baking.
Recipe FAQs
Molasses adds a distinct warm, spicy flavor to cookies and other baked goods. It also adds sweetness (molasses is a kind of sugar) and a trademark dark brown color.
The difference between molasses cookies and gingerbread cookies is texture. Gingerbread Cookies are typically crunchy or brittle in texture, while molasses cookies are soft and chewy.
More holiday cookies to try
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Spritz Cookies
Cookie and Bar Recipes
Linzer Cookies
Cookie and Bar Recipes
Pizzelle
Christmas Recipes
Christmas Sugar Cookies
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Molasses Cookies
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon Salt
- 1/2 cup butter softened (1 stick)
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar firmly packed
- 1/4 cup shortening
- 3/4 cup molasses (see note 1)
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar for rolling
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt. Set aside.
- In a standing mixer fit with the paddle attachment on medium speed, or with an electric mixer, beat butter, brown sugar, and shortening until smooth. Add molasses and egg and beat until combined.
- Reduce speed to low and gradually add flour mixture. Cover and chill at least 2 hours or up to 3 days in advance.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats. Place sugar in a shallow dish for rolling.
- Roll dough into 1 1/2-inch balls, toss in sugar, and arrange at least 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Flatten with a glass.
- Bake until the edges are set, about 8 to 12 minutes. Transfer to wire racks and cool completely.
Notes
- Molasses: Look for light molasses (as opposed to blackstrap). It has the lightest color and mildest, sweetest flavor of all the kinds of molasses.
- Yield: This recipe makes about 36 Molasses Cookies.
- Storage: Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks. Or, if you live in a cold climate, store them in your cold garage or patio indefinitely.
- Make ahead: The dough can be made up to 3 days in advance (and performs best when it’s cold).
- Freezer: Form the dough into a disk, then label, date, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Roll the dough balls in sugar just before baking.
Nutrition
Meggan Hill is a classically-trained chef and professional writer. Her meticulously-tested recipes and detailed tutorials bring confidence and success to home cooks everywhere. Meggan has been featured on NPR, HuffPost, FoxNews, LA Times, and more.
Very good its worth it yummy
These are just like my Grandmas! 🥰
note: cannot substitute shorting with more butter. oops! my bad! : | I started the recipe and realized i didn’t have any shortening, so I used more butter. they still taste amazing but are just more dense than I wanted, but that is my bad!
good flavor and we still ate them up!
thank you for sharing!
Sorry Meggan…I didn’t want you to think I am an uber heathy cookie maker…that would take all the fun out of cookies in general. I am always puzzled about what shortening really is in various recipes. What do you prefer to use when “shortening” is listed in any ingredients? Is there a general rule that tells you what would be best to use and when? Which did you use in your molasses cookies? Is there a difference in what kind of molasses to use, too? I LOVE YOUR HUMOR AND OF COURSE YOUR RECIPES!
Hi Tig! LOL, no problem at all! Shortening is a very specific thing – basically vegetable oil that is solid at room temperature. It’s like a can of white fat… super gross when you look at it, but it tastes awesome in things like pie crust and cookies. Pretty sure there is no ingredient more processed on the face of the planet though! But anyway, vegetable shortening is available in the baking aisle at every store. It’s a lot like lard but made from plants instead of animals (that doesn’t mean it’s healthy, though). Crisco is a popular brand, as you mentioned, but I usually just buy generic and have never had any issues. For molasses, usually there are two kinds: Blackstrap and everything else. Blackstrap is extra bitter, less processed, and stronger than you want, probably. So just pick anything that is called “molasses” or “mild molasses” and avoid anything that says blackstrap. You should be safe. THANK YOU FOR BEING HILARIOUS YOURSELF! Happy cookie making, I hope all your dreams come true! :D
What is best shortening…crisco? butter? Something healthy preferred.
Hey there Tig! In my experience there is no healthy shortening. If that’s what you’re looking for, you would probably want to seek out some kind of “healthy” molasses cookie that has been tested with something like vegan butter or coconut oil or whatever your preferred fat is. Doing a blind substitution like that using my recipe would almost certainly end in disaster. I wish I could be of more help but unfortunately alternative baking isn’t my specialty… yet! Thanks again.
I have not seen these in ages. Another recipe for my ever growing bucket list.Â
That’s sound great. My son will love these! I will try this molasses cookies for him!