Soft Molasses Cookies

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 8 minutes
Total Time 23 minutes
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These soft molasses cookies are perfectly-round with crisp edges and a soft, chewy center. These old fashioned cookies are easy to make with no chilling required, making them the perfect holiday cookie!

Why You’ll Adore This Molasses Cookie Recipe

When these flat, golden-brown, spiced molasses cookies come out of the oven, you’ll be hooked! Here’s why you will love this molasses cookie recipe:

  • Seasonal Favorite: Every mouthful is an autumn-spiced, crisp edged, chewy centered bite! They are the perfect partner for a glass of cold milk or a cozy mug of hot cocoa.
  • Flavorful: This molasses cookie recipe has a warm blend of cinnamon and ginger, making them taste a little bit like a gingersnap cookie or gingerbread. They taste and smell amazing!
  • Quick and Easy: What’s better than a plate full of warm, homemade cookies? Having them in less than half an hour! This simple recipe doesn’t require any special ingredients or methods.
  • Crowd Pleaser: Double or triple this satisfying molasses cookie recipe for holiday cookie exchanges or stack and package as gifts for neighbors, teachers, family and friends.

Looking for more old fashioned cookies? Try these peanut butter blossoms, festive soft gingerbread man cookies or a batch of chewy peanut butter cookies!

Ingredients for molasses cookie recipe arranged in bowls.

The Ingredients You’ll Need

Grab your spices and pantry staples to get going. Check the recipe card at the bottom of the post for exact amounts.

  • Flour: Regular all-purpose flour works best in this recipe.
  • Baking Soda
  • Spices: Give these cookies some warmth with a combination of ground cinnamon, ginger, cloves and salt.
  • Unsalted Butter: Make sure you let it come to room temperature.
  • Sugar: Granulated sugar works perfectly, but you can also use brown sugar for the dough.
  • Egg
  • Molasses: This gives the cookies a unique flavor and wonderful texture.
  • Coarse Sugar: Use coarse sparkling sugar for rolling the balls of cookie dough. You can use granulated sugar, but using coarse sugar before baking will create a pretty sparkle!
One soft molasses cookie leaning against a glass of milk.

How to Make Molasses Cookies

These soft molasses cookies come together quickly and bake up in perfect, crackly, uniform circles. For full detailed directions, scroll to the recipe card below.

  • Mix: Whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, salt and cloves.
  • Beat: With a hand or stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and mix in molasses.
  • Combine: Slowly add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, and mix until combined.
  • Form: Place coarse sugar in a small bowl. Shape a heaping tablespoon of dough into a ball and coat it in sugar. Place on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper.
  • Bake: Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until the tops crack and edges are set. Remove from the oven and leave them on the cookie sheets for 5 minutes. Transfer to finish cooling on a wire rack to cool completely.
Molasses cookies cooling on a cookie rack.

Tips & Variations

Check out these tips to guarantee soft and chewy molasses cookies!

  • Dark Molasses: Blackstrap molasses provides a deeper, richer molasses flavor in the cookies.
  • Chill: If working in a hot kitchen or warm environment, chill the dough for 20 to 30 minutes if it’s too sticky to roll. This will also help if your cookies are spreading too much.
  • Cookie Scoop: For uniform cookie sizes and even baking, use a cookie scoop or a tablespoon to portion out the dough.
  • Use a Fork: When you’re ready to roll the cookies in the sugar, you can also use a fork to roll the balls of cookie dough around to avoid coating your hands in sugar.
  • Don’t Over-Bake: Once the edges are set, the cookies are ready to come out. The middles will still be soft and look under-baked, but they will firm up as the cookies cool.
  • Add-Ons: A thin layer of cream cheese frosting would be a great addition to this cookie or sandwiched between two cookies! You can also dip them in melted white chocolate.
  • Ginger: If you like it a little spicy, turn into chewy ginger molasses cookies. Toss a handful of Finley chopped, candied ginger in addition to the ground ginger for amore intense ginger flavor.
Soft molasses cookies with crisp edges and chewy centers arranged on a marble serving tray.

How to Store Soft Molasses Cookies

These cookies keep wonderfully for up to a week, making them a great Christmas cookie.

  • Store: Once the cookies are fully cooled, store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week. To keep cookies extra soft, place a slice of white bread in the container with the cookies. Replace the bread every few days as it becomes stale.
  • Freeze Cookies: Freeze baked cookies in an airtight freezer safe container or zip top freezer bag for up to 3 months.
  • Freeze Dough: Freeze unbaked dough balls on a sheet pan until solid to the touch. Transfer dough to an airtight, freezer safe container and freeze for up to 6 months. Thaw frozen dough in refrigerator overnight and bake as directed. Or bake from frozen, just add an extra 2 to 3 minutes to the bake time.
Soft molasses cookies with chewy centers stacked on top of each other with sparkling sugar flecks on top.
4.7 from 11 votes
Print Pin Recipe
Yield: 28 cookies

Soft Molasses Cookies

These soft molasses cookies are perfectly-round with crisp edges and chewy centers! Made with pantry staple ingredients and no chilling required, these are an easy holiday cookie everyone will love!
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time8 minutes
Total Time23 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • ¾ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon ground cloves
  • ¾ cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg, room temperature
  • ¼ cup molasses
  • coarse sugar, for rolling

Instructions 

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F. Move racks to the center of the oven. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
  • In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, salt and cloves. Set aside.
  • In a stand mixer or with a hand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and mix in the molasses. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, and mix until fully combined.
  • Using a medium cookie scoop (or 1 heaping tablespoon of dough), shape the dough into balls. Place the coarse sugar in a shallow bowl, and roll the dough balls in the sugar to coat them. Place on the prepared cookie sheets, leaving 2 inches between for spreading.
  • Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until the tops crack and the edges are set. Remove from the oven and leave them on the cookie sheets for 5 minutes. Transfer to finish cooling on a cookie cooling rack.

Video

Notes

Store: Once the cookies are fully cooled, store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week. To keep cookies extra soft, place a slice of white bread in the container with the cookies. Replace the bread every few days as it becomes stale.
Freeze Cookies: Freeze baked cookies in an airtight freezer safe container or zip top freezer bag for up to 3 months.
Freeze Dough: Freeze unbaked dough balls on a sheet pan until solid to the touch. Transfer dough to an airtight, freezer safe container and freeze for up to 6 months. Thaw frozen dough in refrigerator overnight and bake as directed. Or bake from frozen, just add an extra 2 to 3 minutes to the bake time.
Dark Molasses: Blackstrap molasses provides a deeper, richer molasses flavor in the cookies.
Chill: If working in a hot kitchen or warm environment, chill the dough for 20 to 30 minutes if it’s too sticky to roll. This will also help if your cookies are spreading too much.
Cookie Scoop: For uniform cookie sizes and even baking, use a cookie scoop or a tablespoon to portion out the dough.
Use a Fork: When you’re ready to roll the cookies in the sugar, you can also use a fork to roll the balls of cookie dough around to avoid coating your hands in sugar.
Don’t Over-Bake: Once the edges are set, the cookies are ready to come out. The middles will still be soft and look under-baked, but they will firm up as the cookies cool.
Add-Ons: A thin layer of cream cheese frosting would be a great addition to this cookie or sandwiched between two cookies! You can also dip them in melted white chocolate.
Ginger: If you like it a little spicy, turn into chewy ginger molasses cookies. Toss a handful of Finley chopped, candied ginger in addition to the ground ginger for amore intense ginger flavor.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 cookie, Calories: 131kcal, Carbohydrates: 20g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 5g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1g, Trans Fat: 0.2g, Cholesterol: 20mg, Sodium: 145mg, Potassium: 59mg, Fiber: 0.3g, Sugar: 13g, Vitamin A: 168IU, Vitamin C: 0.003mg, Calcium: 11mg, Iron: 1mg

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Jessica
For the past 15 years, Jorge & Jessica have loved getting to share their families' favorite recipes with all of you. They live in Florida with their 3 kids.