Molasses Cookies

Name: Molasses Cookies
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 25 min
Ingredients: 1 cup all-purpose flour ((5 ounces by weight)); 1 tsp baking soda; 1/4 tsp salt; 1 tsp ground ginger; 1/4 tsp ground allspice; 1/4 tsp ground cloves; 4 tbsp softened unsalted butter; 1/2 cup sugar (plus extra for rolling); 1 egg white; 4 tbsp unsulphered molasses

by Joanne November 25, 2018 (updated March 12, 2021)

These Molasses Cookies have the perfect old fashioned flavor and chewy bite, and are great for cookie exchanges and holiday parties!

While Molasses Cookies will never have the popularity of Snickerdoodles, Shortbread Cookies, or this Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe, I think they are easily one of the best.

Molasses Cookies - On a Gold Wire Rack

The flavor and texture are both just too incredible.

They’re crisp on the edges but very chewy in the middle, and the flavor is so spicy and bold.

With ginger, allspices, and cloves supporting the dark, rich flavor of molasses, the cookies simply taste AND smell like the holidays.

You’ll notice that these have a flatter, more crinkled texture than most molasses cookies.

I specifically use only egg white and proportioned the ingredients so they have this really flat, ultra chewy texture.

As in, they’re not one bit cakey or fluffy, which is how I like it.

Can Molasses Cookies be Frozen?

These cookies freeze nicely after being baked, so you could easily make a few batches ahead of time for cookie exchanges or for holiday parties.

How to Make Molasses Cookies:

Combine all purpose flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, allspice, and cloves:

Whisk well, then set aside.

In a separate bowl, cream together butter and sugar until fluffy and light, then add 1 egg white:

Whip that in until the mixture is creamy, then add molasses:

I have used both classic unsulphered molasses (like Grandma’s brand) and more artisanal blackstrap molasses, and both yield good results. The choice is yours!

Whip that until the molasses is evenly mixed in:

Add the dry ingredients, and mix until a soft dough forms:

Now, you can either bake these right away, or you can chill them.

Baking them right away is great if you want a really flat and chewy texture to the cookie, and also if you’re impatient and WANT COOKIE NOW lol.

Chilling the dough to firm up the butter is a better option if you want a less flat cookie, as it will spread less during baking. It will also be easier to work with.

I usually choose to bake them right away, but they will be harder to roll because the dough is sticky. To get around this, use a cookie scoop to drop them straight into granulated sugar:

The sugar will help you give them a quick roll with your hands, into a ball shape:

Bake the cookies for about 13-15 minutes, depending on how “done” you like the cookies. I pull them when they’re still glistening a bit in the center.

Note that they will look pretty puffed right out of the oven, because of the egg white:

But as they cool, they will flatten out a bit:

Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies, Monster Cookies, and Snowball Cookies are a few of my other favorite recipes to bake. And Cut Out Cookies if you want to decorate. Enjoy!