This Molasses Cookie Recipe is soft and chewy in the center, crisp around the edges, and packed with warm holiday spice. The BEST Christmas cookies!
Author’s Notes
My Most Requested Christmas Cookie
These are hands-down my favorite Christmas cookie. I love chocolate chips, fun frostings, and all the creative cookie combos (and I’ve truly added just about everything to cookies), but when Christmas rolls around, nothing puts me more in the holiday mood than these.
They’re sweet, soft, and chewy, and packed with all the warm holiday spices. They just feel like Christmas.
Every year I make this Molasses Cookie recipe, bring them to parties, gift them to neighbors, and add them to every cookie box I make in December. And without fail, I’m told the same thing. These are the best gingersnap cookies they’ve ever tasted.
Molasses Cookie Recipe Ingredients
| Ingredient Group | Helpful Tip |
|---|---|
| Butter & Sugars | Melt the butter and let it cool slightly. Hot butter can cause greasy cookies. |
| Eggs & Vanilla | Bring eggs to room temp so they mix in smoothly and help the dough bake evenly. |
| Molasses | Use regular unsulphured molasses for the best flavor. Blackstrap is too strong and bitter here. I have tested these with Brer Rabbit® and Grandma’s® and would recommend either. |
| Spices & Leaveners | This spice blend gives that classic holiday flavor. Make sure baking soda and baking powder are fresh for the perfect rise. |
| Flour | Mix just until combined so the cookies stay soft and tender. Overmixing can make them tough. |
How To Make This Molasses Cookie Recipe
- Wet Ingredients: Melt butter, let it cool, and mix all wet ingredients.
- Dry Ingredients: Add dry ingredients to wet, mixing until just combined. Chill dough.
- Roll in Sugar: Roll dough into balls and coat each in sugar. Chill again.
- Bake: Preheat oven. Put dough balls on a lined baking sheet and bake.
- Cool & Enjoy: Let cookies cool on the sheet, then move to a rack.
Giving This Molasses Cookie Recipe The Perfect Sugar Coating
For the perfect finishing touch, roll the dough in a mix of coarse and granulated sugar before baking. This mix adds the perfect light crunch.
Other options: You can use turbinado or sparkling sugar for even more crunch. Plain granulated sugar works too, just with less crunch.
Storage
Leftovers?
- Storing Cookies: This molasses cookie recipe is best enjoyed within a few days. Store leftover cookies in a sealed container at room temperature for up to a week.
- Freezing: Freeze unbaked dough balls on a tray until solid, then transfer to a sealed bag or container. Bake straight from frozen, adding a few extra minutes.
More Holiday Treats:
Quick And Easy
Christmas Snack Mix
Quick And Easy
Christmas Brownies
Desserts
Peppermint Fudge Recipe
Desserts
Rolo Pretzel Turtles
Molasses Cookie Recipe
Video
Equipment
- Sheet pan (15" x 10") lined
Ingredients
- 16 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup molasses
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 3-1/2 cups flour see note 1
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup extra-coarse sugar or just use more granulated sugar
Instructions
- Stir the granulated sugar and coarse sugar together in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Melt the butter in a microwave-safe bowl, then let it cool for about 5 minutes. Hot butter can melt the sugars and cause greasy cookies. Scrape every bit of the butter into a large bowl. Add both sugars and, using a whisk, mix until smooth. Add the eggs and vanilla and whisk briskly until fully combined and smooth. Whisk in the molasses.
- Sprinkle the baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg over the wet ingredients and whisk to combine. Add the flour on top. Switch to an electric hand mixer and beat just until combined, being careful not to overmix. Cover the dough tightly and chill for 30 minutes.
- Roll the dough into tall, cylindrical balls using about 2 tablespoons per cookie (40 grams each if using a food scale). Roll generously in the sugar mixture. Cover and refrigerate for another 45 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. Place 6 dough balls far apart on a silicone-lined sheet pan. Bake for 9 to 14 minutes, watching closely to avoid overbaking. I usually remove mine at 10 to 11 minutes. The cookies will look slightly underbaked but will firm up into perfectly chewy centers as they cool. If needed, gently press the edges inward with the back of a metal spatula right after baking.
- Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Variations
Fun Ways to Switch Up This Molasses Cookie Recipe
- Add white chocolate chips: These go well with the spices and molasses.
- Change spices: If you’re not sure about the spices, start with less and change to taste. Remember, the dough tastes stronger than the baked cookies.
- Frost them: Skip the sugar coating and add frosting instead. Cream cheese frosting would be delicious!
- Add a chocolate drizzle: Melt white chocolate with a bit of coconut oil, transfer it in a bag, cut the tip, and drizzle over cooled molasses cookies.
Wonderful recipe! I made these yesterday, and were easy and tasty. They do get a bit hard after cooling, but have a great “snap.” ☻ I did not have molasses, unfortunately, but just used brown sugar instead.
I also halved the recipe, used granulated sugar instead of course crystals, and increased the serving of ginger (1 and 1/2 teaspoons instead of 1 for a halved recipe). Turned out great! Will definitely make again.
The molasses addition will make sure that they don’t get hard after cooling — it keeps them really soft 🙂 Glad you enjoyed these! Thanks for sharing your changes!