These ginger molasses cookies are soft, chewy, and absolutely delicious! I’ve been making these for 10+ years and they’re always a fan favorite no matter who I share them with!
All you need to make these soft molasses cookies are a few ingredients you probably already have around the house, and of course molasses! Make them for your next cookie exchange, Christmas party, or to add to Christmas treat plates!
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The Best Molasses Cookies
I can’t take the credit for this recipe. My friend Danielle actually made these for one of our cookie exchange a long time ago and shared the recipes with all of the girls there. I have her permission to share this here so all of you can enjoy the best molasses cookies ever! Seriously!
This molasses cookie recipe is pretty much no-fail unless you bake them too long and then they might get a bit hard and no longer be the soft molasses cookies you’re looking for! Otherwise, these are pretty hard to mess up – my favorite kind of cookies!
They’re sweet (hello sugar!), a little spicy (as in flavorful, not hot), and tastes like the holiday flavors we all know and love. The dark brown sugar also gives them a little bit deeper of a sweet flavor than say snickerdoodles. But really you have to try them yourself because like I said describing what does a molasses cookie taste like is tough.
Gift these soft molasses cookies to a friend with one of these Christmas gift tags, take them to a cookie exchange, or just serve them up at your next Christmas party – they’re guaranteed to be a hit!
Why You’ll Love These Cookies
- Perfect texture – these are soft and chewy but not too soft that they’re falling apart! If you’re looking for a crisp gingersnap, these are not for you but if you want a soft molasses cookie, you have to try these!
- Spiced flavor – the combo of the spices in these is just the right amount to give you the Christmas spice flavor you’re looking for without being overpowering.
- No chill dough – no chilling necessary to make these cookies so they’re a great last-minute option if you need something for a holiday party!
Ingredients
Ingredient notes
- Molasses – I typically use Grandma’s Molasses for this recipe simply because it’s what I’ve been using for years. Feel free to use whatever molasses you want.
- Butter – I like to used unsalted butter but salted works fine too – just make sure it’s softened so it’ll cream easily with the sugar!
- Flour – all-purpose flour works best in these ginger cookies!
- Brown sugar – I typically use light brown sugar in these cookies but dark brown is fine too, you’ll just end up with cookies that have a bit darker color and a little more molasses flavor than the original.
How to make molasses cookies
These ginger molasses cookies are pretty easy to make, assuming you’ve made homemade cookies before! The most important thing to remember is just to mix the dry and wet ingredients separately before you combine them together so the ingredients can cream together correctly!
1 – Make the Molasses Cookie Dough
Start by preheating the oven to 375 degrees and lining a baking sheet (or two if you have multiple ovens) with parchment paper.
Once those are going, start the dough by combining the softened butter, brown sugar, molasses, and egg in a large mixing bowl.
While that’s mixing, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and ginger in another bowl.
Slowly add the dry flour mixture into the molasses mixture, mixing until it’s all well combined to create a dough that’s easy to roll into a ball.
2 – Roll the Cookie Dough Balls
Place the extra sugar in a shallow bowl that you can use to roll the dough in!
Use a medium cookie scoop to scoop out some cookie dough. Gently roll it into a ball using your hands then roll it in the sugar bowl, coating all of the sides evenly.
Place the cookie dough ball on the parchment paper lined baking sheet, leaving space between the cookies because they will expand while they bake.
Repeat this process until you’ve filled the baking sheet.
Tip!
You can roll the other cookies and place them on another cookie sheet while you’re baking the cookies or just put the dough in the fridge until you’re ready to roll out the next step!
3 – bake the soft ginger cookies
Place the cookie sheet in the preheated oven and cook for 8-9 minutes. They’re going to be super soft when you take them out but take them out before you think they’re done to keep that soft and chewy texture you’re looking for.
If they crinkle on top, that’s totally okay. They’re still delicious even if the tops aren’t perfect – just make sure not to over bake them or you’ll end up with cookies that are harder than you want.
Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for a couple of minutes, until they’re firm enough to move to a cooling rack. Then carefully move them to a cooling rack to let them cool completely before enjoying!
These cookies go great with milk, hot chocolate, or homemade wassail! They’re one of my personal favorites and one that I always bring to cookie exchanges (because people love them) or to Christmas celebrations!
You can eat them warm or at room temperature! Any cookies you aren’t eating right away should be stored in an airtight container at room temperature. They’ll be good for up to a week at room temperature or you can freeze them and enjoy for up to three months!
Ginger Molasses Cookies Video
See how easy it is to make the cookies! Check out the video in this post to see how easy these come together!
Cookie Recipe FAQs
What kind of molasses did you use?
I typically use Grandma’s molasses for these cookies but any molasses works!
Can you freeze these molasses cookies?
Yes! You can either freeze the cookie dough (roll into balls, put them on a baking sheet, and freeze on the baking sheet then transfer to an airtight freezer safe container), or freeze the cookies after baking. The dough or the cookies will freeze for up to three months.
Do molasses cookies need refrigerated?
These cookies do not need to be refrigerated. Store them in an airtight container and they should be good for up to a week!
More Easy Cookie Recipes
If you need more cookie recipes, here are some of my favorites! Any of these would be great to go along with these ginger molasses cookies for a holiday cookie exchange!
- Kentucky butter cake cookies – soft, gooey, and delicious butter flavored cookies!
- Cream cheese sugar cookies – these fun cookies are soft and perfect for making cut-out cookie shapes!
- Christmas tree cookies – sugar cookies decorated to look like Christmas trees are the best Christmas treat!
- Grand Floridian chocolate chip cookies – these are famous at Disney World for good reason!
- Caramel toffee cookies – soft and chewy caramel cookies with a toffee crunch!
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Soft and Chewy Ginger Molasses Cookies
Ingredients
- ¾ cup butter softened
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup molasses
- 1 egg
- 2 ¼ cup flour
- 2 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground cloves
- 1 tsp ginger
- ½ cup sugar (for rolling cookie dough in)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Combine the butter, brown sugar, molasses, and egg in a mixing bowl with either a hand mixer or in a stand mixer.3/4 cup butter, 1 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup molasses, 1 egg
- Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and ginger in another bowl.2 1/4 cup flour, 2 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp ground cloves, 1 tsp ginger
- Slowly add the dry flour mixture into the molasses mixture, mixing until it’s all well combined to create a dough that’s easy to roll into a ball.
- Place the sugar in a shallow bowl that you can use to roll the dough in! Place the extra sugar in a shallow bowl that you can use to roll the dough in! Place the cookie dough ball on the parchment paper lined baking sheet, leaving space between the cookies because they will expand while they bake.Repeat this process until you’ve filled the baking sheet.1/2 cup sugar
- Place the cookie sheet in the preheated oven and cook for 8-9 minutes. They’re going to be super soft when you take them out but take them out before you think they’re done to keep that soft and chewy texture you’re looking for.
- Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for a couple of minutes, until they’re firm enough to move to a cooling rack. Then carefully move them to a cooling rack to let them cool completely before enjoying!
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