Old-Fashioned Molasses Cookies
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Soft and chewy with a crackled sugar crust, these gingery molasses cookies are loved by kids and adults alike.
Every year, my daughter and I bake these gingery molasses cookies for her holiday cookie bake sale and every year, they sell like hotcakes. Soft and chewy with a crackled sugar crust, they have just the right balance of spices to please kids and adults alike. You’ll note that the recipe calls for black pepper. I promise, no one will know it’s there, but it adds a delightful little kick that lingers on the palate. Allow a few hours for the dough to chill in the fridge before baking.
If you love the rich flavor that molasses adds to baked goods, you’ll definitely want to try my crispy ginger cookies, comforting gingerbread, gingerbread cookies (a fun project to do with the kids), or pumpkin scones—all brimming with the cozy flavors of fall and winter.
“So delicious that my husband (who doesn’t normally have a sweet tooth) has to reach for second helping 😃. Definitely a keeper.”
What You’ll Need To Make Molasses Cookies
- All-Purpose Flour: Forms the base of the cookies, giving them structure. To ensure accuracy, measure the flour by spooning it into the measuring cup and leveling it off.
- Baking Soda: Acts as a leavening agent, helping the cookies rise and develop their crackled tops.
- Salt: Balances the sweetness and enhances the warm, spiced flavors.
- Ground Ginger, Cinnamon, Allspice, Cloves, Black Pepper: This mix of spices gives the cookies a rich, warm, and slightly peppery flavor that complements the molasses and enhances the classic taste.
- Butter: Adds richness and creates a soft, chewy texture.
- Granulated Sugar and Light Brown Sugar: Sweeten the dough while helping with moisture retention, keeping the cookies soft.
- Egg: Binds the dough together and contributes to the chewy texture.
- Unsulphured Molasses: A key ingredient in the cookies, providing the signature deep, robust flavor and dark color. I use Grandma’s Original unsulphured molasses but any brand will work. Just make sure not to purchase blackstrap molasses; it’s quite bitter and would have a significant impact on the flavor of the cookies.
- Raw Sugar (for rolling): Creates the characteristic crackled, sugary crust on the outside of each cookie.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-By-Step Instructions
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, and black pepper.
Whisk to combine.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or beaters), combine the butter and the granulated and light brown sugars.
Beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
Add the egg and molasses.
Beat to combine.
Add the flour mixture.
Mix on low speed until combined.
Chill the dough in the refrigerator until firm, a few hours. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°F and set two racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. Line two 13 x 18 in baking sheets with parchment paper. Form heaping tablespoons of dough into balls and roll in the raw sugar to coat generously. Arrange the dough balls about 2½ in apart on the prepared baking sheets.
Bake for 9 to 10 minutes, rotating the sheets from top to bottom and front to back midway through, until puffed and set. Let cool on the baking sheets for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Make-Ahead & Freezing Instructions
The cookies will last nicely, stored in an airtight container at room temperature, for up to 3 days. The cookie dough can be frozen for up to 3 months: Roll the dough into balls, let set on a baking sheet in the freezer, then place in a sealable bag and press out as much air as possible. Bake as needed directly from the freezer. (Allow 1 to 2 minutes longer in the oven.) To freeze after baking: Let the cookies cool completely and store in an airtight container separating layers with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Before serving, remove the cookies from the container and let them come to room temperature.
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Old-Fashioned Molasses Cookies
Soft and chewy with a crackled sugar crust, these gingery molasses cookies are loved by kids and adults alike.
Ingredients
- 2⅓ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground allspice
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- ⅛ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- ¾ cup (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ¼ cup plus 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
- ¼ cup plus 2 Tbsp packed light brown sugar
- 1 egg
- ⅓ cup unsulphured molasses, such as Grandma's Original
- ½ cup raw sugar (also called turbinado or demerara sugar), for rolling cookies
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, and black pepper.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or beaters), beat the butter and the granulated and light brown sugars until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the egg and molasses. Add the flour mixture and mix until combined. Chill the dough in the refrigerator until firm, a few hours.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°F and set two racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. Line two 13 x 18 in baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Form heaping tablespoons of dough into balls and roll in the raw sugar to coat generously. Arrange the dough balls about 2½ in apart on the prepared baking sheets. Bake for 9 to 10 minutes, rotating the sheets from top to bottom and front to back midway through, until puffed and set. Let cool on the baking sheets for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The cookie dough can be frozen for up to 3 months: Roll the dough into balls, let set on a baking sheet in the freezer, then place in a sealable bag and press out as much air as possible. Bake as needed directly from the freezer. (Allow 1 to 2 minutes longer in the oven.) To freeze after baking: Let the cookies cool completely and store in an airtight container separating layers with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Before serving, remove the cookies from the container and let them come to room temperature.
Nutrition Information
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- Serving size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 103
- Fat: 4 g
- Saturated fat: 2 g
- Carbohydrates: 16 g
- Sugar: 9 g
- Fiber: 0 g
- Protein: 1 g
- Sodium: 74 mg
- Cholesterol: 15 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Way too sweet for me. They are still pretty good though. I recommend them to be eaten with a glass of milk or black coffee on the side.
These sound delicious! I’d like to reduce the amount of sugar, how much can I reduce it and which sugars? Thanks!
Hi Julie, You can cut back either or both the granulated and brown sugar by 2 tablespoons. Please LMK how they turn out!
I cut out 4 tbsp of sugar (2 tbsp white and 2 tbsp brown) and the cookies are still phenomenal! I reduced my first batch by 2 tablespoons.
Thanks for another wonderful recipe. ❤️
OMG!! I now live in the UK and have been missing my favourite item from Trader Joe’s…molasses cookies. Look no further, these are them. YUM!! It took forever but I found “date molasses” in the international food aisle at Waitrose. It worked perfectly! They sell pomegranate molasses as well. I baked on 170C on the fan setting. Thank you for bringing a bit of home to our Christmas this year!
These are tasty and easy to make. I think I will amp up the spices a bit next time as they were a little mild for my taste. But definitely a keeper!
Hi Jen, I am going to freeze these until ready to bake. Do you roll them in the sugar and freeze, or roll in sugar before baking? And, these are delicious!
Hi Denise, Glad you like them! And you can go either way with the sugar; it doesn’t make a difference.
Hello! My cookies came out puffy at first but then fell flat. I refrigerated the dough overnight and baked them for 9 minutes (my oven bakes relatively fast so I did not want to go over the 9 minutes). Any ideas on what I should do differently to keep them puffy?
Hi Kelly, They may be a bit underbaked. It could also be the brand of flour – what are you using?
Amazing flavor!!!! We love the crunch from the raw sugar coating! I rotated the , moved them front to back, and used a timer…..however, the two pans of cookies did not turn out the same. (My oven gets much hotter in the back) I will definitely make these again (fabulous flavor!) but would like to know if it would work to bake only one pan at a time.
Yes that would be a good solution – keep in mind the bake time will be just a bit shorter.
Great cookies! Made these tonight and they were a hit! I cut back on the sugar in recipe based on the previous note and only rolled the tops with the sugar to cut back again. They tasted great! Look forward to having with a tea or coffee.
After making a number of really bad Ginger Cookie recipes – thrown out in the garbage – I turned to Jenn Segal once again. These Old Fashioned Ginger Cookies are brilliant!!! Mixture great texture – I’ve never baked with molasses before (I used “Black Strap”) and cookies “to die for”!!! Will make them at least Double quantity next time. Soft middles, with delicious crunchy outer raw sugar coating – these are the best!!! Jen, Melbourne, Australia
I love this recipe! The buiscuites came out nice a soft in the middle with a soft centre which was perfect. I added mildly flavoured glazed ginger bits.
Some comments to note. The ginger was a little too mild for my ‘ginger snaps’ pallet. I replaced the ‘all spice’ with freshly ground nutmeg and ground ginger powder which slightly over played the nutmeg flavours. Next time I will use actual ‘all spice’.
Otherwise, highly recommended. The addition of fresh pepper is fantastic and adds a little ‘je ne ce quo’. 🙂
Perfect recipe! Crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. So yummy.
Delicious and came out looking beautiful, and will definitely make again.
I made them a little smaller to feel less guilty when having with morning coffee! (baked for 10mins as recipe)
Just as information to others.. in UK, I used “black treacle” instead of molasses. They look less flat and came out shaped more like an amaretto biscuit, but gorgeous either way.
Thank you, Jen!