It’s Christmas cookie season and let’s kick it off with these Old Fashioned Chewy Molasses Cookies! Each one is perfectly thin, super soft and chewy, and loaded with ginger, cinnamon, and cloves for amazing flavor. If you want a quick and easy holiday cookie recipe, this is it my friend! Plus, they have a great shelf life as well so you can make them ahead of time.
When I was younger, I thought I hated molasses cookies because my only frame of reference was my mom’s homemade gingerbread she made for our annual decorating of gingerbread houses. Of course, because they needed to be sturdy, her gingerbread was dry and hard. Perfect for construction of houses, not great for eating 🙂
Then I came upon this recipe and my Christmas cookie life has forever been changed for the better!
What is molasses?
Think of molasses as the leftovers of the sugar making process! First, sugar cane or sugar beets are crushed and the juice from that crushing is boiled down, which causes crystals of sugar to form. Once those sugar crystals have been removed, molasses is the thick, dark brown syrup that is left behind.
The darker the molasses, the more times the syrup has undergone this process. Darker molasses is also less sweet because it contains less sugar.
Can I add frosting to these Old Fashioned Chewy Molasses Cookies?
I know you will love these cookies just like they are, but of course you can take it up a notch! You could do just a light layer of powdered sugar glaze or if you are really looking to go the extra mile with these bad boys, try a cream cheese frosting on top. And since it is Christmas, you could also add some festive sprinkles on top before the frosting hardens.
If you plan to freeze them for storage, don’t frost them until you need them. Freezing frosting just never goes that well.
How long can I store the cookies?
Since Christmas cookies generally need to last a bit longer, you have two storage options:
Room Temperature Storage: seal them in an airtight container for up to 7 days. They won’t go bad after that but they do start to dry out and get crumbly.
Freezer Storage: these molasses cookies freeze extremely well. Create a single layer on a cookie sheet and freeze until solid, about 4 hours. Once frozen, move them into an airtight container or bag and keep them in the freezer for up to 2 months. Freezing them individually allows you to easily pull out a few at a time.
These Old Fashioned Chewy Molasses Cookies come together in just a few minutes and are soft and chewy every time! Perfect for the holidays.
Total Time:25 minutes
Yield:22 cookies 1x
Ingredients
Scale
3/4 cups butter, room temperature
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup molasses
1 egg
2 1/4 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
*extra sugar for rolling
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
Using a mixer, cream together the butter, sugar, and brown sugar on medium-high speed until the mixture is pale yellow in color and fluffy. Around 2-3 minutes. Don’t skip this step!
Beat in the egg and molasses until combined.
Add the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and kosher salt. Mix until dough comes together.
Create 1-inch balls of dough and roll them in sugar until coated on the outside.
Bake for 8 minutes until cookies begin to crack slightly on top. Do not overbake!
Remove from oven and let cool on the sheet pan for 5 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack.
Author:Carole Jones
Prep Time:15 minutes
Cook Time:10 minutes
Category:Cookies
Method:Baked
Cuisine:American
Nutrition
Serving Size:1 cookie
Calories:130
Sugar:13 g
Sodium:151 mg
Fat:5 g
Saturated Fat:3 g
Unsaturated Fat:2 g
Trans Fat:0 g
Carbohydrates:20 g
Fiber:0 g
Protein:1 g
Cholesterol:20 mg
Carole Jones
Carole Jones is an Arizona-based cookbook author & food blogger. She's authored The 30 Minute Cooking From Frozen Cookbook and the self-published Take 5: Chicken e-cookbook. For the past 15 years, Carole has shared her culinary adventures cooking and baking for her six brutally honest children here on My Kitchen Escapades. Hot, crusty bread is Carole's love language, but her two adorable grandchildren are a close second. Yes, second. Don't judge.
8 comments
Kate
4 years ago
These were amazing! I loved how easy they came together. I’m going to freeze some and see if I can keep my family from eating them all before Christmas.
Carole
4 years ago
Thank you Kate for coming back and leaving your review! It helps out so much….and good luck keeping those hands out of the cookies in the freezer 😉
STACEY
4 years ago
Do you have a favorite frosting recipe for these?
Carole
4 years ago
Hi Stacey! I don’t frost them but you could take a cup or two of powdered sugar and add a few dashes of milk to create a simple glaze.
Christine
2 years ago
Perfectly chewy and crispy! These cookies are exactly what I have been craving, just like the cookies from my youth. I had to switch out cinnamon and cloves due to allergies so I doubled the ginger and added cardamom.
Emily
1 year ago
Tastes great, but I was trying this instead of my usual recipe as I wanted very thin cookies. Mine did not spread, and are just as thick as my normal recipe. Bummed
Michelle
1 year ago
Do you recommend light or dark molasses and, do you recommended salted or unsalted butter? Thanks
anthony
1 year ago
I use a dark molasses. Generally for baking you want to use unsalted butter as the recipe has salt. Personally, I LOVE salt, and so only ever use salted butter. If you are more sensitive to salt I would recommend always using unsalted butter.
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8 comments
These were amazing! I loved how easy they came together. I’m going to freeze some and see if I can keep my family from eating them all before Christmas.
Thank you Kate for coming back and leaving your review! It helps out so much….and good luck keeping those hands out of the cookies in the freezer 😉
Do you have a favorite frosting recipe for these?
Hi Stacey! I don’t frost them but you could take a cup or two of powdered sugar and add a few dashes of milk to create a simple glaze.
Perfectly chewy and crispy! These cookies are exactly what I have been craving, just like the cookies from my youth. I had to switch out cinnamon and cloves due to allergies so I doubled the ginger and added cardamom.
Tastes great, but I was trying this instead of my usual recipe as I wanted very thin cookies. Mine did not spread, and are just as thick as my normal recipe. Bummed
Do you recommend light or dark molasses and, do you recommended salted or unsalted butter? Thanks
I use a dark molasses. Generally for baking you want to use unsalted butter as the recipe has salt. Personally, I LOVE salt, and so only ever use salted butter. If you are more sensitive to salt I would recommend always using unsalted butter.