Chewy Molasses Cookies made from scratch. These buttery cookies are filled with warm spices and chunks of dark chocolate. They’re quick and easy – and perfect for Christmas and the holiday season!
Christmas is coming 🎄 And I’m kicking off the festivities early this year with my favourite Molasses Cookie recipe.
These buttery cookies are crunchy and golden and filled to the brim with warm spices like ginger and cinnamon. Throw in a few dark chocolate chunks and a generous roll in sugar, and they’re a lovely twist on regular gingerbread cookies.
With plenty of fragrant spices and the deep smokey flavour of molasses, they smell and taste like Christmas.
Why you will love this recipe
- Quick and easy: You don’t need any fancy equipment or ingredients to make a batch of these Molasses Cookies.
- Crispy or chewy: These cookies have a lovely chewy middle but you can bake them for a few minutes longer if you want a more crunchy cookie with a ‘snap’.
- Make-ahead: You can easily make the cookie dough ahead of time and freeze it – great for holiday planning.
- Classic holiday cookie: These chewy cookies are filled with fragrant holiday flavours. They’re sure to make it on your Christmas baking list every year.
Recipe testing
Meet my perfect Christmas cookies. These homemade Molasses Cookies have a chewy texture, deliciously crisp edges, and are filled with warm spices.
Roll them in a little extra sugar for a nice crunch and load them up with roughly chopped pieces of chocolate for a soft and gooey centre.
These old fashioned Molasses Cookies are full of flavour, full of chocolate and full of Christmas cheer! 🎄
They’re perfect for cookie exchanges or holiday baking. If you’re looking for the best Molasses Cookies, you’ve come to the right place.
Ingredients
In addition to regular pantry staples, there are a few extra ingredients that make these chewy Molasses Cookies extra special. Here’s a quick snapshot of the core ingredients you’ll need, including any substitutions you can make.
- Molasses: Molasses is a thick, dark sugar syrup that boasts a sweet, almost smokey flavour. You can use light molasses or dark molasses in this recipe. Do not use blackstrap molasses or black treacle which is extremely bitter. You can find molasses in most grocery stores, often in the baking aisle or near other sweet syrups like golden syrup or maple syrup.
- Dark chocolate: I’ve used a block of dark chocolate (70% cocoa) that I chopped by hand. You can use any chocolate you like – even chocolate chips. OR you can leave the chocolate out for a more traditional Molasses Cookie.
- Demerara sugar: This is a coarse raw sugar that creates a crunchy exterior. If you don’t have access to it, you can use turbinado sugar, or simply use extra brown sugar or caster sugar. Or omit the sugar roll entirely.
See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
How to make Molasses Cookies
These chewy ginger Molasses Cookies are so quick and easy to make. You will need an electric mixer to make a batch. You can use a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.
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Here’s a snapshot of how to make them. The full instructions are included in the recipe card below.
Step 1: In a large bowl, add butter and sugars. Mix using an electric mixer on medium speed until combined and creamy.
Step 2: Add vanilla and egg. Mix on medium speed just until combined.
Step 3: Add molasses and mix again until creamy and smooth.
Step 4: Add dry ingredients and then mix on low speed until a soft cookie dough forms.
Step 5: Stir through chocolate chunks if using. Cover and chill cookie dough for 30 minutes.
Step 6: Scoop using a medium cookie scoop (approximately 1.5 tablespoons of dough per cookie) and roll into balls.
Step 7: Roll each cookie dough ball in sugar. Place on prepared baking sheet.
Step 8: Bake cookies for 11-12 minutes or until golden on the edges. Transfer to a cooling rack.
Storage instructions
Once completely cooled, you can keep leftover Molasses Cookies in an airtight container at room temperature.
Make Ahead: You can make the cookie dough ahead of time. Simply roll the molasses cookie dough into balls and freeze. When you’re ready to bake, let the cookie dough thaw at room temperature before baking as per instructions below.
Recipe tips
Here are my tips for creating perfect Molasses Cookies every time.
- Choose the right molasses: Don’t use blackstrap molasses (also sometimes called black treacle) which is very bitter. Choose original, light or dark molasses for this recipe.
- Use a baking scale: I highly recommend weighing out your dry ingredients using a kitchen scale. Too much flour can make your cookies thick, cakey and not spread properly. It’s VERY easy to overmeasure flour when using a measuring cup.
- Don’t skip the chill time: Since we are adding a hefty amount of molasses (liquid) to the recipe, you will need to chill the dough before baking. Don’t skip this step or your cookies will be as flat as pancakes.
- Watch the bake time: For soft and chewy cookies, consider taking them out at 11-12 minutes. Remember cookies firm up as they cool. However, if you like a cookie with a ‘snap’ and crunch, consider baking them for 2-3 extra minutes.
Frequently asked questions
You can use light or dark molasses in this recipe. Sometimes it’s called original molasses. The molasses I use is Mountain Valley Molasses, natural and pure. The main thing to avoid is using blackstrap molasses which is very bitter.
If you don’t have access to molasses, you could try these cookies with golden syrup or treacle.
Gingerbread cookies and molasses cookies are quite similar. They both have warm spices like ginger and cinnamon, but some gingerbread recipes have extra spices like nutmeg and cloves. I often use golden syrup instead of molasses in my gingerbread cookies. And while gingerbread cookies are often cut-out cookies that are baked until crisp, these Molasses Cookies are soft and chewy. But if you love one, you are likely to love the other!
More Christmas cookies to love
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Let’s Bake
Molasses Cookie recipe
Chewy Molasses Cookies filled with dark chocolate chips.Â
Ingredients
- 115 grams (1/2 cup or 1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 135 grams (3/4 cup) brown sugar
- 50 grams (1/4 cup) caster sugar or granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 60 ml (1/4 cup) molasses
- 245 grams (1 and 3/4 cup) plain flour or all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 150 grams (1 cup) good quality dark chocolate (50-70% cocoa), roughly chopped
- Demerara sugar, for rolling, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F) standard / 160 C (320 F) fan-forced. Line two baking trays or cookie sheets with baking paper or parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, add butter and sugars and beat using an electric mixer on medium speed for a minute or two until smooth and creamy.
- Add egg and vanilla and beat briefly until combined. Add molasses and beat again just until combined and creamy.Â
- Add flour, baking soda, ginger and cinnamon and mix on low speed until a soft cookie dough forms. Stir through chocolate chunks.
- Cover cookie dough with plastic wrap and place in the fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes – or the freezer for 15 minutes.Â
- Scoop cookie dough using a medium cookie scoop (approximately 1.5 tablespoons each) and roll them smooth using your hands. Roll each cookie dough ball in sugar until completely covered.
- Place on cookie dough balls on prepared trays, leaving room for the cookies to spread naturally in the oven.
- Bake cookies for 11-12 minutes or until the cookies are golden. Leave cookies to cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
Molasses: Molasses is a thick, dark sugar syrup that boasts a sweet, almost smokey flavour. You can use light molasses or dark molasses in this recipe, but do not use blackstrap molasses or black treacle which is extremely bitter.
Dark chocolate: I’ve used a block of dark chocolate (70% cocoa) that I chopped by hand. You can use any chocolate you like – even chocolate chips. OR you can leave the chocolate out for a more traditional Molasses Cookie.Â
Demerara sugar: This is a coarse raw sugar that creates a crunchy exterior. If you don’t have access to it, you can simply use extra brown sugar or caster sugar – or omit the sugar roll entirely.Â
Storage: Keep leftover cookies in an airtight container at room temperature.
Make-ahead: Keep cookie dough in the fridge covered in plastic wrap until you are ready to bake. Bring the dough back to room temperature before rolling in sugar and baking.
Alternatively, you can roll cookie dough into balls and store in a freezer bag or airtight container in the freezer. To bake, simply bring back to room temperature and then bake as per instructions above.
Bake time: For soft and chewy cookies, consider taking them at 11-12 minutes. Remember cookies firm up as they cool. However, if you like a cookie with a ‘snap’ and crunch, consider baking them for 2-3 extra minutes.Â
Nutrition Information
Serving Size: 1 cookie Calories: 217 Sugar: 24 g Sodium: 43.9 mg Fat: 8 g Carbohydrates: 35.3 g Protein: 2.4 g Cholesterol: 24.1 mg
Mike says
My cookies didn’t spread and the taste of ammonia was strong. Tried to let it cook a little longer but didn’t help either issue. Not sure where I went wrong. Oven was preheated to 350 and I followed the directions and measurements exactly.
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Mike, did you use baking soda? I’m puzzled if there was a taste of ammonia and wonder if you may have used baking ammonia instead? Cookies not spreading is a common issue. Did you measure the flour using a baking scale or with cups? Overmeasuring flour is the most common culprit. But you can read more about cookies not spreading here.
Josh says
Delicious!