The softest gingersnap molasses cookies… ever.
I may or may not be overloading you with cookie recipes lately. But hey… tis’ the season right?! Truth of the matter is that I simply adore cookies. Creating them, baking them, decorating them (sugar cookies are my favorite), eating them. There are so many options, so many add-ins, so many varieties. There’s a real science behind baking cookies and, call me a nerd, but I love learning more and more with each batch I bake.
Gingersnap molasses cookies are one of my favorite cookies around the holidays, and I’m here to share 4 ways you can bake them. Soft, chewy, puffy, and simple. You cannot go wrong!
So. Earlier this month, I shared this gingersnap recipe with you and loaded the humble little cookies with butterscotch chips. You loved them! And so did I. I made a few other batches later that week. I made them plain, with chocolate chips, and with white chocolate chips. Here are the cookies with butterscotch: Soft Gingersnaps with Butterscotch Chips.
My friend Erin said the plain version are the BEST cookies I have ever made. And I make a lot of cookies. That says something. The cookies are so puffy, so soft, so thick, and incredibly chewy—everything I look for in a cookie’s texture. I like to compare them to little pillows, very similar to my soft and thick peanut butter cookies and snickerdoodles. Pillowy molasses gingersnap cookies.
With a sugary sheen and trademark crinkly tops, gingersnap molasses cookies are the epitome of holiday baking. So many memories with my mom and sisters, rolling the balls of dough into a big mountain of sugar. The sugar-dip is the best part of making gingersnaps!
While I simply adore the butterscotch chips hiding inside, I wanted to show you three more ways to make these cookies. Plain, with white chocolate, and with semi-sweet chocolate. Here are the cookies with white chocolate chips:
And here they are with semi-sweet chocolate chips. If you’ve made chocolate ginger cookies before, you know that chocolate paired with molasses is simply divine.
Plain and simple, these will be the thickest and softest gingersnap cookies you will ever make.
Between the plain, the butterscotch, the white chocolate, or the regular chocolate…
Which one do you like the best?
PrintSoft-Baked Gingersnap Molasses Cookies
- Prep Time: 2 hours, 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours
- Yield: 30 cookies
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Soft-style and super thick gingersnap molasses cookies. Enjoy them with chocolate chips, white chocolate, or butterscotch. Or simply plain – my favorite way.
Ingredients
- 3 cups (375g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 and 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup (12 Tbsp; 170g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3/4 cup (150g) packed dark brown sugar
- 1/3 cup (80ml) unsulphured or dark molasses (I prefer Grandma’s brand; do not use blackstrap)
- 1 egg, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- for rolling: 1/3 cup (67g) granulated sugar
- optional: 1 cup (180g) butterscotch chips or white chocolate chips or semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and salt. Set aside. In the bowl of a stand or handheld mixer, cream the softened butter for about 1 minute on medium speed. Add the brown sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides as needed. Add the molasses, egg, and vanilla. Beat well, scraping down the sides as needed again.
- Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet on low speed. Do not overmix. Cover mixed dough with foil and chill for 2 hours or up to 3-4 days. I chilled mine overnight.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Shape dough into 1-inch balls and roll in granulated sugar. Place balls 2 inches apart. Bake for about 10-12 minutes or until the edges are just turning brown—cookies will be puffy and still appear soft in the middle. Remove from the oven and, if using any variety of flavor chip, immediately press 5-7 chips into the center of each cookie.
- Allow to cool on the baking sheet for two minutes and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: Cookies may be frozen up to 3 months. Rolled cookie dough balls (after the cookie dough has been chilled in step 2) may be frozen up to 3 months. Do not thaw, simply bake for 1-2 minutes longer.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Baking Sheet | Silicone Baking Mat or Parchment Paper | Cooling Rack
- Be sure to check out my top 5 cookie baking tips AND these are my 10 must-have cookie baking tools.
Keywords: gingersnap molasses cookies
My girlfriends and I get together every Christmas for a cookie bake. This is one of my go-to recipes. Our cookie night is tomorrow, and I was just making my doughs tonight. Sadly, I realized I didn’t have enough ginger only about half of what I need. will this make a huge difference. Is there something else I should replace it with?
Thank you!!
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Hi Brooke, how about adding a little more cinnamon, or adding allspice.
Hey, I’ve made these cookies before and I absolutely love them, as did everyone else! Sadly this time it was a bit on the crumbly side, so the dough was a bit stiff I added a couple teaspoons of water to soften it up and it kind of helped, but not enough. Do you have any ideas how to resolve that kind of issue so that I can continue baking?? The cookies turned out okay, but I aim for perfection
Hi Keeks, how did you measure your flour? If the dough was overly crumbly, there may be too much flour in the dough. Be sure to spoon and level or use a food scale for the most accurate measurements. Glad to hear this recipe is a favorite for you!
I am making these tomorrow, and I am unsure of what dark molasses is. I usually just buy the Grandma unsulphured brand from the grocery store. Would that work?
Hi Amanda, yes, Grandma’s brand is exactly what I use. Unsulphured.
I really enjoy your recipes!! I just made a batch and the cookies didn’t stay puffed and seem to spread/flatten a bit. A few still were a little puffy in the center. I was wondering what I may have done wrong?
Thank you!!!
Hi Naomi, if the middles were still a bit puffy, it sounds like they may need another minute or two in the oven. Otherwise, you may find this post on how to prevent cookies from spreading a helpful resource. Thank you for making and trusting our recipes!
Hi Sally! Hoping to make these tomorrow but wanted to turn them into sandwiches with a cream filling. What flavour would you recommend as a filling?
Sounds delicious! A vanilla filling would compliment the gingersnap well – or a brown sugar and/or cinnamon flavored filling. Let us know what you try!
Any recipes you’d recommend?
Here’s our vanilla buttercream recipe and cinnamon cream cheese frosting!
Hi I was wondering… if I wanted to add even MORE molasses for flavor, how would I balance out that extra liquid? More flour? Remove the egg? I’ll probably just test it out, but thought someone might have a tip! Thanks 🙂
Hi Danielle, it would take some recipe testing and tinkering with the ingredients, but we’d start with adding some more flour to start. Let us know what you try!
Made these the other day. My boyfriend loved them. He also loves the snickerdoodles too! Thanks for making me seem like an amazing baker!! Love your recipes!
I used a scale to measure my ingredients and this dough was extremely dry. The cookies didn’t really taste like a ginger molasses cookie to me. I have made many of Sally’s recipes but was disappointed on this one.
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So I just finished making the dough. It looks like sand. Is this normal???
Hi Sara! How did you measure the flour? Make sure to spoon and level (instead of scooping) to avoid packing in too much flour into your measuring cups. You can read more about properly measuring baking ingredients in this post.
These are insanely good! I have found most of your recipes easy to follow and delicious! I was a professional baker for many years so I tweak a little (not that they need it) I think I need to buy your cook book! Save on my phone in the baking space!
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i love this cookie recipe!! it is everything i’ve been looking for in a molasses cookie recipe!!!
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Would these cookies work with a lemon glaze on top instead of chocolate chips?
Absolutely!
Can the egg be substituted with a vegan product? Thank you in advance.
We haven’t tested an egg-free version of these cookies but let us know if you do!
I just made the dough, but wondering (and this is probably very obvious) – when do I add the chocolate chips? Before or after baking? Your photo shows them not quite melted so I wasn’t sure 🙂 looks amazing though!
Hi Emily! We add them after baking – see the end of step 3. Hope you love these!
Hi Sally,
I made these cookies for Thanksgiving and the family loved them!
I’m going to try making a chocolate version of them (minus the ginger and spices) and was wondering how much cocoa powder should be added, and if the amount of flour used would need to be adjusted. I’d like to hear your suggestions on that, please.
Thanks very much and happy holidays!
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Hi Jon, we’re so glad to hear your family enjoyed these cookies! Cocoa powder can be a finicky ingredient and isn’t always a 1:1 swap with flour, so it would take some recipe testing to know how much to add to these cookies. If you’re looking for a similarly soft chocolate cookie, our inside out chocolate chip cookies or double chocolate crinkle cookies are great choices!
Hi..I want to make and freeze the dough balls after its been chilling in the fridge for 2 hours. Should I roll them in the sugar BEFORE I freeze the balls? Your directions say not to let them thaw and are not sure if the sugar will stick to the frozen dough balls. Thanks!
Hi Judy! You can roll them in sugar before freezing. Enjoy!
I haven’t made molasses cookies before but it is the first cookie I gravitate to when someone has them at a party. I am so excited to be making them today. The dough is chilling right now. One thing I did not have was unsalted butter, so I hope that isn’t a huge deal. I did however leave out the 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Counting the minutes until I can start rolling them out.
Hello Sally,
Can I incorporate chocolate chips into the cookie dough batter prior to baking as opposed to putting the chocolate chips on top after they come out of the oven?
Hi Jessica, absolutely. You can add 1 cup (180g) butterscotch chips or white chocolate chips or semi-sweet chocolate chips into the dough.
Excellent recipe. I love making these every Christmas.
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hi! I have a friend that wants ginger snaps that can be decorated, would I be able to roll these out instead and cut into shapes? Or would that be a no go?
Hi Mercedes, These cookies likely wouldn’t hold their shape if cut with a cookie cutter. For cut out shapes you can use this recipe for Gingerbread Cookies instead!
I want to make these cookies into giant ones but still have them super thick. Will they still stay thick if I stick with the original recipe and just measure out bigger dough balls or would adding in some cornstarch help? Can’t wait to try these out! Thanks for the recipe
Hi Madelon, no need to alter the recipe itself. Rolling the cookies a little larger shouldn’t be an issue and they should remain on the thicker side. The bake time will be longer.
I have made these so many times and they are so fabulous! Last batch I threw in some carmalized ginger pieces for an added suprise. I was wondering if fresh ginger paste could be subbed in instead of the ground ginger?
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Hi Tara, I’m so happy you enjoy these cookies! I haven’t tested this recipe with ginger paste so I’m unsure of the amount you would need. If you wish to try it just keep in mind that ground ginger is more potent than the paste.
Hi Sally!
Love your recipes! Do you have any suggestions on how to alter the recipe to make crispy ginger cookies?
Thank you!
Hi Diana! Thank you so much. Here is my crisp molasses cookies recipe.
The PERFECT soft gingerbread cookie!!
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Hi Sally!
I am new to molasses and purchased blackstrap molasses. Should I return to the store or can I use this in this recipe?
Hi Becky! Blackstrap molasses is very strong, so if you don’t mind a strong molasses flavor– it’s totally fine! Otherwise, a regular dark or mild molasses would be great.
These. are. amazing! I have been looking for a great recipe for a molasses spice/gingersnap-type cookie for years, and this one is just perfect! Great texture, perfect level of spice for me…just lovely! Thank you for all your wonderful recipes! 🙂
I’ve found that any cookies that are rolled in sugar are even better if you use vanilla sugar! I use my vanilla pods to make it, but you can find it in many stores as well.
Do you suppose these would taste ok with cinnamon chips? I have some left over from your pumpkin cookie recipe. 🙂
Yes, absolutely! Would be so, so good.
Can you freeze this dough? Planning for the Holidays!!
Yep! See my post about freezing cookie dough.
I absolutely loved your pillowy snickerdoodle recipe and when I saw these little molasses pillows, I knew I had to make them! They are just as fantastic as your snickerdoodle and I absolutely LOVE the thick, soft texture. I would love to see more cookies made in a similar texture as these and those snickerdoodles! Thank you so much! 🙂
I made these today and they were excellent! Absolutely perfect. Thanks for giving me a wonderful rainy day activity.