There’s something magical about biting into Old-Fashioned Molasses Cookies! They’re crackly on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside, and bursting with warm spices. A cookie that’s always a holiday favorite, but also perfect for a cozy afternoon when you need a bit of comfort and joy.
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These chewy molasses cookies are one of my favorite cookie recipes of all time. I make these throughout the holiday season each year because everyone just gobbles them up. Even better, molasses cookies are so easy to make!
A little history – I’ve had this recipe in my arsenal since I was a little girl. It all started when I was ten, at my father’s office holiday party. I kept eating these cookies and they were so good that even at ten years old, I boldly asked the caterer for the recipe.
She wrote it down on a sheet of paper with a sharpie and I’ve had this cookie dough smudged handwritten recipe in a folder for nearly 30 years. Colleen – if you ever see this, just know you made a big impact on my life!
Other baking favorites from my childhood are these chewy peanut butter cookies. And you can’t go wrong with these pumpkin spice snickerdoodles for another holiday hit!
Why You Will Love This Recipe
- Beginner Baker Friendly. Not only is it delicious, it’s incredibly easy to make. Even if you consider yourself “not a baker” these cookies are pretty much foolproof!
- Make Baking a Family Project. This simple recipe is great to make with kids. Rolling the dough into balls and in sugar is the perfect job for little hands.
- Great Flavor and Texture. They’re chewy with just the right amount of spice.
- No Butter Cookies. They’re made with oil instead of butter, so it’s a welcome addition to the bunches of holiday cookies for anyone with dairy sensitivities.
- The Perfect Holiday Cookie. Bake them up as a gift, for a cookie swap, holiday party, or just because you’re craving a soft and chewy molasses cookie.
Ingredients
- All-purpose flour: The crucial ingredient that provide structure to the cookies. My preference is to use Bob’s Red Mill Organic Unbleached All Purpose White Flour but you can use whatever you have on hand.
- Molasses: For the best flavor, using a “robust”, “full flavor” or dark molasses. Those marked mild or light molasses just don’t pack enough punch and blackstrap molasses is quite strong for baking. This Brer Rabbit brand full flavor molasses is my go to!
- Warm spices: Cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt add the perfect amount of warmth, spice, and flavor to the cookies.
- Oil and egg: Adds moisture and fat to the cookies which helps to keep them soft. Make sure to bring your egg up to room temperature before mixing.
- Granulated sugar: Sweetens the cookies and contributes to their tender texture.
- Baking soda: Used to help the cookies rise but also aids in giving them their classic chewy texture.
For the full list of ingredients with quantities, check the recipe card further down the page.
How to Make Molasses Cookies
Soft molasses cookies with a crunchy, crackly exterior is the goal and I’m going to show you exactly how to do it! Grab your ingredients, cookie scoop, preheat your oven, and let’s start baking!
Step 1: Sift. Sift together the flour, baking soda and spices and set that aside.
⭐️ PRO TIP: Do this over a sheet of parchment paper that can be folded into a funnel to easily guide the dry ingredients into the mixing bowl.
Step 2: Mix. Use your stand mixer with the paddle attachment or a hand mixer to beat together the granulated sugar and oil. Add the egg and molasses, and mix again.
Step 3: Add the Dry Ingredients. Add the sifted flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. The dough should be shiny and a little bit sticky.
Step 4: Scoop. Portion the dough into rounded tablespoons with a cookie scoop. Then shape using hands into round balls.
⭐️ PRO TIP: I like to chill the dough balls for about 30 minutes after shaping them to firm them up a bit. It also enhances the flavor! Totally optional but if you have time, I recommend it.
Step 5: Roll in Sugar. Roll the dough balls generously in granulated sugar
Step 6: Transfer and Bake. Place the cookies at least two inches apart on a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet. They will spread out quite a bit so make sure you leave enough space between each cookie. Bake at 375 degrees for 8-9 minutes.
Step 7: Cool. Let them cool on the baking sheet for 2-3 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Expert Tips
- Make Ahead: You can mix the dough together and scoop into balls a 2-3 days ahead of time. Keep the cookie dough tightly wrapped in the refrigerator until you’re ready to bake. Then roll them in sugar, place them on the baking tray, and bake as directed.
- Don’t Overbake: The baked cookies should look cracked on the top and a little bit puffy and underdone in the middle. They will firm up as they cool. Do not over bake them if you want chewy cookies!
- Keep the Cookies Fresh: Place them in an airtight container and store at room temperature for up to week. You can also freeze baked cookies for up to six months.
- Add to a Dessert Tray: Combine these old-fashioned molasses cookies with other holiday classics like vanilla almond snowball cookies, reindeer feed, and sliced of old-fashioned pound cake.
- Even Sized Cookies: Use a cookie scoop or measuring spoon to make cookie dough balls the same size. Uniformity is key to proper baking.
Old-Fashioned Molasses Cookies Recipe FAQs
Absolutely! To make things easy, scoop the dough into balls first and then freeze on a baking sheet before placing them in an airtight container in the freezer. Store it in the freezer for up to six months.
Molasses is made by boiling the mixture squeezed from sugar cane. Light molasses is produced by the first boiling while dark molasses develops by boiling a second time. When it’s boiled a third time, the result is blackstrap molasses. The cooing time influences the flavor and color of the molasses. For baking, dark molasses is preferred. The light version doesn’t bring enough flavor, and blackstrap molasses is too strong.
This happens when the cookies are not mixed properly or overbaked. To start, make sure you measure your ingredients properly. Spoon dry ingredients into a measuring cup and level with a knife. Next, make sure that once you combine the dry ingredients with the wet, you only mix long enough to bring the dough together. Do not overmix or it will make your cookies tough. Lastly, make sure you don’t overbake. The cookies may look slightly underdone in the center but they will continue to cook a bit and setup as they cool.
More Holiday Cookie Recipes You Will Love
Old-Fashioned Molasses Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups Bob's Red Mill Organic Unbleached All Purpose White Flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup neutral oil
- 1 cup granulated sugar plus more for rolling
- ¼ cup dark molasses
- 1 egg room temperature
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees f
- Sift together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and salt.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a mixing bowl with a hand mixer, beat oil and sugar together for about 2 minutes.
- Beat in egg and molasses.
- Add dry ingredients to the molasses mixture and mix until dough is just combined. It will be shiny and a little bit sticky.
- Use a cookie scoop to portion out the dough into rounded tablespoon or one inch balls and roll with your hands.
- Chill the rolled dough balls for 30 minutes – this step is optional.
- Generously roll the dough balls in granulated white sugar.
- Place dough balls with at least two inches of space between them on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
- Bake at 375 degrees f for 8-9 minutes until the tops are cracked and they are slightly puffed in the middle.
- Cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. Cookies will flatten as they cool.
Equipment
Notes
- Chilling the dough is optional.
- Cookies will spread quite a bit so be sure to leave plenty of space on the baking sheet.
- Do not overbake. The baked cookies should look cracked on the top and a little bit puffy and underdone in the middle
Nutrition
Cynthia Drazic
I used light brown sugar thinking it would be a nice combo of white and brown. I followed the directions other than that. The cookies taste like baking soda and nothing else. Could it be the sugar?
Jessica Lawson
Hi Cynthia! I’m not sure what happened here as I’ve never gotten that feedback and have been making these for over 30 years. I’m sorry they didn’t work out, maybe there was a mistake made? Thanks for being here. – Jessica