Prep Time15 minutes
Total Time30 minutes
Servings24 Cookies
This Soft Molasses cookies recipe brings strong warm spices and a soft texture to your holiday baking. The mix of molasses, brown sugar, and cozy spices gives these cookies deep flavor and consistent chew. The dough comes together fast and bakes into crinkly, chewy cookies with crisp edges and tender centers. Anyone who loves classic gingerbread flavors will enjoy these.
These bakery style molasses cookies work well for adding to your gifting cookie tin and entertaining. They stay soft for days and hold up during travel. You mix simple pantry ingredients and get reliable results every time. The scent alone signals the holiday season and fills your kitchen with warmth.
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Heather’s Notes
- Soft center with crisp edges creates a balanced texture.
- Bold spices delivers strong flavor without bitterness.
- Molasses adds moisture and deep color for a bakery look.
- Rolling in sugar produces an even crinkle pattern.
- Dough chills and freezes well for make ahead baking.
Ingredient List
- All purpose flour – supports structure and keeps the cookies tender.
- Baking soda and baking powder – help the cookies rise and spread evenly.
- Ground cinnamon – gives warm spice that pairs well with molasses.
- Ground ginger – adds sharp heat and bright flavor.
- Ground cloves – create depth and strong aroma.
- Kosher salt – sharpens the flavor and balances sweetness.
- Butter – adds richness and soft texture.
- Dark brown sugar – boosts moisture and gives caramel notes.
- Unsulfured Molasses – provides color, chew, and classic holiday flavor.
- Egg – binds the dough and adds lift.
- Vanilla bean paste – rounds out the spice blend.
- Granulated sugar for rolling – adds crunch and helps with crinkles.
Subs and Variations
- Use white whole wheat flour for part of the all purpose flour to add nutty flavor.
- Use light brown sugar if you want milder sweetness.
- Swap half the cinnamon with cardamom for a fresh twist.
- Add black pepper for a subtle spicy kick and depth of flavor.
- Use coarse sugar instead of white sugar for rolling to create stronger crunch.
Find the full printable recipe card with exact measurements and step-by-step instructions below.
How to Make Ginger Molasses Cookies
- Start by whisking the dry ingredients. Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk until the spices look evenly distributed.
- Cream the softened butter and dark brown sugar in a separate large bowl until the mixture looks smooth. Add the molasses, egg, and vanilla. Beat until the mixture looks glossy and well incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Stir until the flour disappears. Cover the dough and chill for at least one hour. Chilling strengthens the flavor and improves spread.
- Heat oven to 375º F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Scoop the dough into small balls. Roll the cookie dough balls in granulated sugar and place them on the prepared cookie sheets with space between each cookie.
- Bake until the edges look set and the tops have clear cracks. This takes about 10 to 12 minutes. Cool on the sheet for a few minutes. Move the cookies to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Tips for Storing
- Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature.
- Add a small piece of bread to keep them soft.
- Freeze baked cookies for up to three months.
- Freeze unbaked dough balls for quick baking later.
Recipe FAQs
You butter may have been too soft or the dough not chilled long enough.
Do not overbake. Pull the cookies when the edges set but the centers look slightly soft.
Yes, chilled dough produces stronger flavor and better texture.
Yes, the mix gives height, spread, and soft texture.
It adds crunch and helps create the signature crinkle top.
Scoop larger dough balls and chill before baking. Add a couple extra cooking minutes.
Avoid blackstrap. It is stronger and more bitter than regular molasses.
More Christmas Cookies to Try
- Soft Ginger Cookies
- Pumpkin Spiced Cookies
- Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies
- Brown Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies
- Soft Snickerdoodles
Soft Molasses Cookies
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Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¾ tsp baking soda
- 2 ½ tsp ground ginger
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, 1 1/2 sticks, room temperature
- ½ cup dark brown sugar, packed
- ½ cup unsulfured molasses
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste, or extract
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar, for rolling
Instructions
- Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and kosher salt in a medium bowl. Whisk until the spices look evenly distributed.
- In a large bowl, cream the softened butter and dark brown sugar until the mixture looks smooth. Add the molasses, egg, and vanilla. Beat until the mixture looks glossy and well incorporated.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Stir until the flour disappears, don't overmix. Cover the dough and chill for at least one hour.
- Heat oven to 375º F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Scoop the dough into 1-2" balls. Roll the cookie dough balls in granulated sugar and place them on the prepared cookie sheets with space between each cookie.
- Bake until the edges look set and the tops have clear cracks, about 12 to 15 minutes. Cool on the sheet for a few minutes. Move the cookies to a wire rack to finish cooling.
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Nutrition
*Nutritional information is not guaranteed to be accurate.
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Hi! I’m Heather
I’m Heather, a recipe developer and content creator based in Vancouver, Washington. I started Farmgirl Gourmet in 2006 because I believed weeknight dinners shouldn’t be boring and gourmet shouldn’t mean complicated. I’m also the co-founder of Spiceology, so safe to say I think about food for a living. Stick around for recipes that actually make it into your regular rotation.
I really love this recipe and hope you will too!
Sorry you didn’t enjoy Rachel. This was not my recipe, but from another blog that I recreated. I’m not sure why yours didn’t come out well. Sorry about that. 🙁 ~heather
Hey Woman! I am going to make these but I cannot locate any nice looking ginger here can I use the powdered stuff? or is that a sacrilege?
yes, you could use powdered. You may need to add a bit more for the flavor affect. Hope that helps and sorry for the delay in my response!! 🙂 Enjoy!
They are a bit cake like Jennie. They were a recipe from another blog, but I bet your alterations would give them some great flavor and texture. Let me know if you change it up and how they turned out.