Old-Fashioned Molasses Cookies
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Soft and chewy with a crackly sugar crust, these molasses cookies are perfectly spiced and a must-bake for the holiday season.
Every year, my daughter and I bake these gingery molasses cookies for her holiday cookie bake sale and every year, they sell like hotcakes. Soft and chewy with a crackled sugar crust, they have just the right balance of spices to please kids and adults alike. You’ll note that the recipe calls for black pepper. I promise, no one will know it’s there, but it adds a delightful little kick that lingers on the palate.
Heads up: the dough needs a few hours to chill before baking, so plan accordingly. And if you love the deep, cozy flavor of molasses, be sure to check out my crispy ginger cookies, comforting gingerbread, gingerbread cookies, and pumpkin scones—all brimming with the cozy flavors of fall and winter.
“So delicious that my husband (who doesn’t normally have a sweet tooth) has to reach for second helping 😃. Definitely a keeper.”
What You’ll Need To Make Molasses Cookies
- All-Purpose Flour, Baking Soda & Salt: These form the base and structure of the cookies, help them rise for that classic crackled top, and balance the sweetness. For accuracy, spoon the flour into your measuring cup and level it off—no packing!
- Warm Spices (Ginger, Cinnamon, Allspice, Cloves & Black Pepper): This cozy mix gives the cookies their signature warm, spiced flavor with just a subtle peppery kick to balance the molasses.
- Butter, Granulated Sugar & Light Brown Sugar: Together, these ingredients add richness, sweetness, and moisture, creating soft, chewy cookies with great flavor.
- Egg: Binds the dough and contributes to the cookies’ chewy texture.
- Molasses: Gives the cookies their deep, robust flavor and dark color. I use Grandma’s Original, but any unsulphured molasses works. Just steer clear of blackstrap—it’s too bitter for this recipe.
- Raw Sugar (for Rolling): Gives the cookies their signature crackly, sugary crust on the outside.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-By-Step Instructions
Step 1: Mix the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and all the spices until evenly combined.
Step 2: Beat the butter and sugars. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or beaters), beat the butter with the granulated and brown sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy, 2 minutes.
Step 3: Add the egg and molasses. Beat until evenly combined.
Step 4: Add the dry ingredients. Mix on low speed until combined.
Step 5: Chill and roll the dough. Refrigerate the dough until firm, a few hours. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°F and set two racks in the upper and lower thirds. Line two baking sheets with parchment. Scoop heaping tablespoons of dough, roll into balls, and coat generously in raw sugar. Arrange about 2½ inches apart on the baking sheets.
Step 6: Bake and cool. Bake for 9 to 10 minutes, until puffed and set. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. The cookies keep well in an airtight container at room temp for up to 3 days.
More Cookie Recipes You May Like
Molasses Cookies
Ingredients
- 2⅓ cups all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off
- 2 tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground allspice
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- ⅛ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- ¾ cup (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ¼ cup + 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
- ¼ cup + 2 Tbsp (packed) light brown sugar
- 1 egg
- ⅓ cup unsulphured molasses, such as Grandma's Original
- ½ cup raw sugar (also called turbinado or demerara sugar), for rolling cookies
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, and black pepper.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or beaters), beat the butter and the granulated and light brown sugars until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the egg and molasses. Add the flour mixture and mix until combined. Chill the dough in the refrigerator until firm, a few hours.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and set two racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. Line two 13 x 18-in (33 x 46-cm) baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Form heaping tablespoons of dough into balls and roll in the raw sugar to coat generously. Arrange the dough balls about 2½ in (6 cm) apart on the prepared baking sheets. Bake for 9 to 10 minutes, rotating the sheets from top to bottom and front to back midway through, until puffed and set. Let cool on the baking sheets for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Notes
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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These cookies are the best Gingersnap cookies. I have been making them for over a year now. They are my granddaughters favorite cookie and my husband loves them also. They are easy and quick to make and turn out wonderful every time.
Hi Jenn, thank you for a delicious recipe! I’ve made these yummy cookies several times, love them! Question for you, though. My dad has mentioned wanting to make molasses cookies with a “dollop of jam” in the center. Would this recipe work, and if so any suggestions on the jam and when to add it?
Thank you!
So glad you like these! Unfortunately, I don’t think that technique will work for these cookies — sorry!
The batch I made had a bitter aftertaste. I double-checked that I followed the recipe correctly. Not sure what I did wrong. Any thoughts?
Hi Anderson, Sorry you had a problem with these! What type of molasses did you use? Any chance it was blackstrap as that could give the cookies a slightly bitter taste. Also, could you have made a mistake when measuring the baking soda?
Hi there! I have a question if you don’t mind. I was looking for a soft spice cookie or molasses cookies to bake for some friends and found your recipe in my search. I’d love to try it, but your recipe says to ball the cookies. I’m looking for a recipe I can roll to cut leaf shaped cookies. Will your recipe let us do that? If so, how thick should the cookie dough be before cutting with cookie cutters to stay a soft cookie?
We have a delicious sugar cookie recipe we use all the time that is intended to be molded, but when we tried rolling it to make leaf shaped cookies, the cookies were hard. We don’t want that. Any advice would be welcome and appreciated. Thank you so much.
Hi Laura This isn’t a great recipe for that purpose. I’d recommend this recipe instead. Hope that helps!
Hi there. I went to the link you shared, but unfortunately those cookies claim to be firm and I’m looking for soft. They’re also for molasses cookies and I’m looking for spice. Thank you anyway.
OK — sorry to hear it won’t meet your needs!
I was wondering if it was better/different if using a gas oven vs an electric oven. So, I made one batch in the gas oven and one batch in the electric oven, both at the same time. Baked exactly for the the same amount of time and both turned out identical. Looked the same and tasted the same — both were delicious.
I have two ovens – a gas oven and an electric oven. Which one would you suggest I use for baking these cookies? Thank you
I have an electric oven, so I’d go that route. Hope you enjoy!
Hi Jenn! Can I substitute maple syrup for molasses? Would I need to change the amount? Thanks!
Hi Meaghan, they will taste slightly different but maple syrup should work (and it would be the same amount). Please LMK how they turn out if you try it!
I made this recipe for the autumnal equinox and it was amazingly good. Soft, simple but tasty cookies. I am a huge fan. Thanks for sharing this recipe!! Can’t wait to try more
Would I be able to use honey instead of molasses for these?
Hi Varya, It will work, but the cookies won’t have that classic flavor that only molasses can provide. Hope that helps!
Just made these, followed recipe exactly, they are so delicious,soft and chewy as described. A great recipe that I will use again and again!👍🏽😊