These Chewy Ginger Molasses Cookies are easy to make, super-soft and chewy, and irresistibly delicious.
It seems a bold move to declare an all-time favorite cookie. But after having been on Team Molasses for going on over three decades now, and already whipped up my third batch of molasses dough in a month, I’ve gotta say that I don’t foresee any allegiance shifts happening soon. So with that said, allow me to introduce you to my all-time favorite cookies…
…the most delicious, soft, chewy, gingery, life-changing molasses cookies. ♡♡♡
My love for these molasses cookies is entirely thanks to my mom, who baked fresh batches of cookies for our family pretty much every week when we were growing up. Granted, she was always a bit mystified that her oldest daughter (hi, Mom) never inherited her obsession with all kinds of chocolate cookies, which will forever and always be her all-time faves. But molasses cookies were always a compromise we could both agree on. We both love these cookies.
This time of year, they are still the first recipe to which I always turn for holiday cookie baking. And this year in particular, they’ve been extra fun to share with all of our European friends who — as it turns out — maybe love them even more than we do! Ha, every time that we have served them to our friends, and our Spanish class, our neighbors, everyone goes crazy for them. Which means that we never come home with leftovers. Which just means that we have to keep baking more, naturally. Which requires exactly zero twisting of my arm. More molasses cookies for all!
Anyway, these cookies are clearly a hit. So as part of our week of cookies here on the blog, I thought I would bump this recipe back up to the top of the pile today for some non-chocolate cookie inspiration. I initially shared this recipe on the blog nine years ago. But that said, a number of you have reported over the years that your cookies have spread a bit more than you like. So I’ve been tinkering around with our family recipe this fall, and have made a few small adjustments to the recipe below that should help them to stay nice and thick and chewy, without compromising the flavor of the cookies at all. (Although if your cookies do ever flatten out, I promise they’ll still be delicious.)
So I hope that you enjoy them as much as we do, and if you decide to bake up a batch, I’d love to hear how they go! Enjoy, everyone!
Chewy Ginger Molasses Cookies Recipe | 1-Minute Video
Chewy Ginger Molasses Cookies Ingredients:
To make this chewy ginger molasses cookies recipe, you will need:
- Butter: Completely softened to room temperature (not melted, or else it will not cream properly with the sugars)
- Sugars: I use half granulated (white) sugar, half packed brown sugar, plus extra sugar for rolling the dough balls.
- Molasses: I typically opt for “original” (versus dark) unsulphured molasses.
- Eggs and baking soda: Two soft and chewy cookie staples.
- Flour: I typically use all-purpose flour for this classic recipe, but white whole wheat flour can work too.
- Spices: We will use a mixture of ground ginger, cinnamon and cloves. Feel free to tinker around with the spice proportions to taste.
- Salt: To bring out all of those delicious flavors.
How To Make Molasses Cookies:
To make these homemade molasses cookies, simply:
- Whisk together dry ingredients. Flour, soda, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and salt.
- Cream together butter and sugars. Using a separate mixing bowl, either with a stand mixer or a hand mixer, cream together the softened butter and sugars on medium-high speed until the mixture is light and fluffy and a pale yellow color, about 2 minutes, scraping down the sides occasionally as needed.
- Mix in the remaining wet and dry ingredients. Mix in the eggs (one at a time) and molasses, and beat on medium-low speed until each is combined. Gradually add in the dry ingredient mixture and beat until it is evenly incorporated.
- Chill the dough. Transfer the dough to an airtight container and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or until the dough is completely chilled. I know — the extra chilling time is substantial, and very tempting to skip. But this particular dough, with all of its butter and molasses, really does need a thorough chilling to prevent the cookies from spreading. Worth the wait, I promise. :)
- Preheat oven. Heat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat, and set aside.
- Roll the dough balls. Once the dough is chilled and firm, roll the dough into small balls, about 1-inch in diameter. Fill a separate small bowl with sugar, and roll each ball in the sugar until it is completely coated. Place dough balls on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake. Bake for about 8-10 minutes, until the cookies begin to slightly crack on top. (They will crack more while cooling.) Remove from the oven and let cool for 4-5 minutes. Then transfer the cookies to wire racks to cool completely.
- Serve. Serve warm and enjoy, or store in a sealed container for up to 4 days. Or freeze for up to 3 months.
Possible Variations:
Want to mix things up with your ginger cookies? Feel free to:
- Add in extra ginger: I also really love adding some chopped crystallized ginger to these cookies for added ginger flavor and crunch.
- Frost your cookies: A really light glaze is delicious atop these cookies. Or if you really want to go for it, cream cheese frosting is divine.
More Favorite Cookie Recipes:
Looking for more delicious cookie inspiration? Feel free to check out our full collection of cookie recipes, or any of these other favorite classic cookies:
- Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
- Peanut Butter Cookies
- Gingerbread Cookies
- No-Bake Cookies
- Brown Sugar Cookies
Chewy Ginger Molasses Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups (340g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup (200g) granulated white sugar
- 1 cup (213g) packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (170g) unsulphured molasses
- 2 large eggs
- 4 1/2 cups (639 grams*) all-purpose flour
- 4 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, soda, cinnamon, cloves, ginger and salt. Set aside.
- Using a separate mixing bowl, either with a stand mixer or a hand mixer, cream together the softened butter and sugars on medium-high speed until the mixture is light and fluffy and a pale yellow color, about 2 minutes, scraping down the sides occasionally as needed. Mix in the eggs (one at a time) and molasses, and beat on medium-low speed until each is combined. Gradually add in the dry ingredient mixture and beat until it is evenly incorporated.
- Transfer the dough to an airtight container and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or until the dough is completely chilled.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper; set aside.
- Roll the dough into small balls, about 1-inch in diameter. Fill a separate small bowl with sugar, and roll each ball in the sugar until it is completely coated. Place dough balls on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for about 8-10 minutes, until the cookies begin to slightly crack on top. (They will crack more while cooling.) Remove from the oven and let cool for 4-5 minutes. Then transfer the cookies to wire racks to cool completely.
- Serve warm and enjoy, or store in a sealed container for up to 4 days. Or freeze for up to 3 months.
Notes
Did you make this?Let me know how it turned out in the comments below!
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These came out yummy. Husband loved them. I will make them again.
Also, did you mean baking powder instead of baking soda?
I’ve now made these cookies 3 times in the last few weeks (giving them out for xmas treats!) They are amazing. A perfect homemade replica of the Whole Foods cookies which have been a family favourite for years. Thank you for this recipe :) I make them bigger (2 inch cookie scoop) so need to be baked for about 13 mins.
This recipe was great, I halved it and followed the recipe to a T and everything turned out perfect. They were chewy with a slight crisp to the outside and the taste was great.
This has to be the best Ginger Molasses recipe of all time. These cookies turn out perfect and I can’t resist them. I’ve brought these to many parties and people can’t stop talking about them or eating them.
A fantastic cookie! Was able to make gluten free and vegan by substituting in gluten free flour, smart balance spread and a powered egg replacement. I also added in chopped up candied ginger. So flavorful- yum!!
Carey, will you please advise which GF flour you used? I’ve tried a couple and my baked goods always seem to come out a little gummy. Thanks in advance for your assistance.
These turned out great! I made two sheets at once. The top sheet cracked right on schedule at 9 minutes and I was able to take them out and get super soft delicious cookies! The bottom sheet, interestingly, did not crack at all, even though I moved them to the top rack after I took out the first sheet. This resulted in me leaving them in about 4 minutes longer (they never did crack). That sheet turned out crisper, more like gingersnaps, and still delicious with more of a browned/caramelized flavor, and will be better for dipping in coffee or milk. Both ways very tasty!
These cookies are AMAZING. I add a bit more ginger/cinnamon/clove than the recipe suggests, amd occasionally a dash of nutmeg, but that is just a personal preference because I really enjoy heavy “spice”. Every time I’ve made these cookies, they get tons of compliments and they are eaten the same day! Thank you for sharing, this is definitely a keeper!
Wow, this recipe is a keeper. These cookies are absolutely amazing. I used the 4 tsp of baking soda recommended and skipped the salt- used salted butter though. Perfection!
This is my first time bake soft ginger bread cookie .I followed recipe baking soda 4 tsp. But it was too strong for me. I tasted bitter. I just wondering I can add 1 tsp baking powder and 1tsp baking soda. But I never eaten correct ginger bread cookie. So I thought go to Starbucks and try one in there.
A little more salty than I like. Very chewy though. Mine turned out very puffy and a light brown. I like the dark brown cookies as shown in the picture. I used the original molasses. How do you get dark brown cookies that are a little flatter?
These cookies are my favorite now! Been making them every Christmas fir the past 3-4 years. Thank you!
Fantastic cookies. My mom loved them!! Just curious how many calories are in one cookie. Plan to make these every year for Christmas!
I’ve heard that organic molasses can be richer and give a darker color in the cookie
I split these between a couple neighbors as a thank you for helping me out. The guy next door said they were the best cookies he’s ever had. The other neighbor said she and her family ate the whole plate in one day! They are really that good!
I refrigerated the dough overnight, which was too long. The dough was too cold and they didn’t crackle like they should have. Also, to me they had a bit of a baking soda taste. I think I will try reducing the amount next time by a tad.