Molasses Cookie Recipe

These wonderfully soft and chewy molasses cookies have a deep rich butter and molasses flavor with warm spices. It’s impossible to not fall in love with one of my favorite cookies!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 12

Chilling Time 3

Total Time 3 32

Servings cookies

Calories 155kcal

Author Elizabeth Marek

Equipment

2 sheet pans lined with parchment

Ingredients

2 ½ cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon instant coffee granules optional
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup unsalted butter softened but not melted
1 cup brown sugar dark or light
1 large egg
¼ cup molasses unsulphered
¼ cup granulated sugar for coating

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, salt, and instant coffee in a large bowl with a whisk, then set it aside.
Add the brown sugar and softened butter to a large bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer with the paddle attachment and cream until light and fluffy, about 1 to 2 minutes.
Stop the mixer when adding the molasses to avoid the thick syrup from splattering on the sides of the bowl. Mix until the molasses is incorporated, then scrape the bottom of the bowl for the stubborn butter.
Mix in the egg until it's fully incorporated.
Add the dry ingredients and mix until the flour is evenly incorporated. You can briefly mix on low speed in your mixer, or combine by hand with a spatula or wooden spoon.
Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate it for 3 hours or overnight. Chilling the dough allows the flour to fully hydrate and stops them from spreading.
Preheat the oven to 350°F and prepare two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Scoop 1.5-ounce balls of dough (about 2 Tablespoons), roll them in the extra granulated sugar, and place them on the cookie sheet, at least 2 inches apart. Gently press the top of the cookie slightly, to keep the cookie from rolling around.
Bake the cookies for 12-15 minutes until the edges are slightly browning and the center is puffed and no longer wet looking. The center might “glisten” a bit, but if the cookie appears set, it is done
Cool the cookies for 5 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack. They are very soft due to the sugar so they need a few minutes to set up before being moved.
Keep the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. You can wrap and freeze the cookies for 2 weeks, or freeze the unbaked cookie dough for up to 3 months. Pro-tip: Pre-roll the cookie dough balls and freeze them, making it even quicker to bake them off fresh. Just roll them in the granulated sugar and pop them in the oven.

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