Homemade soft molasses cookies with crackly tops are super chewy and perfectly spiced. They stay seriously soft for days—if they last that long—and are always a holiday favorite.
Molasses cookies have always been my top choice because they bring me right back to my childhood. I grew up helping my mom bake them. After rolling the dough in the sugar and watching them bake through the little oven window, my sweet reward was biting into a warm cookie fresh from the oven. In addition to the nostalgia, the soft texture paired with cozy molasses puts them above any other cookie.
Sorry, chocolate chip cookies, you don’t even compare.
Molasses Cookie Comparison
Since they’re a favorite, I have plenty of gingersnap/molasses cookie recipes on my website and in my cookbooks. Most stem from the same-ish recipe with the exception of the crisp variety. Let’s review what makes each one individually and undeniably delicious:
- Soft White Chocolate Chip Molasses Cookies: Studded with white chocolate chips, these cookies are lusciously soft and mega chewy. You’ll love the combination of cozy spices and white chocolate.
- Soft Gingersnap Molasses Cookies: These extra soft cookies are fat and fluffy!
- Ginger Pistachio Cookies: I add salty pistachios to my mom’s classic recipe. These ginger molasses cookies are soft, salty, sweet, and spiced. Find this recipe in Sally’s Cookie Addiction cookbook.
- Crisp Molasses Cookies: Another favorite! These are extra crisp. If you’re looking for a crunchy molasses cookie, this one’s for you—they actually snap when you break them!
- Chocolate Ginger Cookies: These are an elevated twist to our classic molasses cookies. You’ll appreciate the added cocoa flavor and how they are beautifully finished with dark chocolate and crystallized ginger.
If I had to choose, I would always reach for my mom’s recipe that lives in Sally’s Baking Addiction cookbook. Nothing compares to mom’s.
What Makes These Molasses Cookies Different?
Another molasses cookie recipe? Yes! These cookies are different from my other varieties and here’s why: they’re soft, crackly, and chewier than all the rest. I used my traditional soft gingersnap molasses cookies recipe as a starting point (the cute puffy ones!). My goal was to produce a flatter, chewier cookie with the same amount of softness. To accomplish this, I used the same ingredients but slightly altered the ratios:
- Flour: I reduced the flour considerably to yield a flatter cookie.
- Baking Soda: To avoid a super flat and overly greasy cookie, I increased the baking soda. Need that lift!
- Spices: Same amount. This careful blend of ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves is exactly what every molasses cookie needs!
- Butter, Brown Sugar, Egg, + Vanilla: Same amounts. Brown sugar is what helps produce the softest molasses cookie ever. (In fact, it’s the first thing I changed when making my crisp molasses cookies.)
- Molasses: Make sure you’re using unsulphured or dark molasses, but do not use blackstrap because it is too intense for these cookies.
Mission accomplished. These cookies are mega chewy, mega soft, and mega crackly!
Which Molasses Do I Use?
There are varying intensities of molasses on store shelves from lighter molasses to blackstrap molasses. Go for an unsulphured or dark molasses, also sold as “robust” molasses. Blackstrap molasses can be quite intense—I don’t bake with it too often.
I’m not working with any of these companies, but I prefer Grandma’s, Brer Rabbit, or Wholesome brands. Wholesome’s organic molasses is super dark, so it will make your cookies a little darker. Look how dark it makes my spiced gingerbread loaf. As opposed to the same recipe as a cake (moist gingerbread snack cake) made with Grandma’s brand. What a difference in color!
How to Make Soft Molasses Cookies
- Whisk the dry ingredients together.
- Combine the wet ingredients together.
- Mix the wet and dry ingredients together.
- Chill cookie dough. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
- Roll cookie dough into balls. Use about 1 Tablespoon of dough per cookie.
- Generously roll each cookie dough ball in granulated sugar. For sparkle, of course!
- Bake. The cookies will puff up as they bake then gently sink back down. This is what creates those familiar crinkles and crackles we love. If your cookies aren’t cracking, gently bang the cookie sheet on the counter 2–3x which will help those warm cookies spread and crack on top. See recipe direction #5.
This is a wonderful make-ahead recipe because the cookies stay seriously soft for days (if they last that long!).
More Christmas Cookie Recipes
- Christmas Cookie Sparkles
- Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
- Iced Oatmeal Cookies
- Gingerbread Cookies
- Brown Butter Sugar Cookies
- Peppermint Mocha Cookies
- Neapolitan Cookies
- Snowball Cookies
- Spiced Eggnog Oatmeal Cream Pies
And here are 75+ Christmas cookies with all my best success guides & tips.
Print
Seriously Soft Molasses Cookies
- Prep Time: 1 hour, 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours
- Yield: 30-32 cookies
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These seriously soft molasses cookies are the most tender and chewy gingersnap cookies around!
Ingredients
- 2 and 1/4 cups (281g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup (170g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup (100g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup (80ml) unsulphured or dark molasses (do not use blackstrap; I prefer Grandma’s brand)
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Rolling
- 1/3 cup (67g) granulated or coarse sugar, for rolling
Instructions
- Whisk the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and salt together until combined. Set aside.
- In a large bowl using a hand-held or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and both sugars together on high speed until creamy and combined, about 2 minutes. Add the molasses and beat until combined. Then add the egg and vanilla extract and beat until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
- On low speed, slowly mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until combined. The cookie dough will be slightly sticky. Cover dough tightly with aluminum foil or plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour and up to 2–3 days.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. (Always recommended for cookies.) Set aside.
- Remove cookie dough from the refrigerator. If the cookie dough chilled longer than 2 hours, let it sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. The cookies may not spread in the oven if the dough is that cold. Roll cookie dough, 1 Tablespoon each, into balls. Roll each in granulated sugar and arrange 3 inches apart on the baking sheets. Bake for 11–12 minutes or until edges appear set. If the tops aren’t appearing cracked as pictured, remove the baking sheet from the oven and gently bang it on the counter 2–3x. This will help those warm cookies spread out and crack on top. Return to the oven for 1 additional minute.
- Remove from the oven and allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Cookies will stay fresh covered at room temperature for 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: You can make the cookie dough and chill it in the refrigerator for up to 2–3 days. Baked cookies freeze well for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature, if desired, before serving. Unbaked cookie dough balls (before rolling in sugar) will freeze well for up to 3 months. Let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes, preheat the oven, then roll in granulated sugar. Bake as directed. Read my tips and tricks on how to freeze cookie dough.
- Special Tools: Stand Mixer | Molasses | Silpat Baking Mat | Cookie Sheet | Cooling Rack
- Be sure to check out my top 5 cookie baking tips AND these are my 10 must-have cookie baking tools.
Keywords: soft molasses cookies, molasses cookies
Can I add chocolate chips to this recipe?
Absolutely! 1 cup should be enough. (180-185g)
Goodness, such a fantastic recipe. I LOVEEEEE these cookies
★★★★★
Sallly, I am making these cookies today–could I drizzle icing on them instead of rolling in sugar?
Absolutely!
Can these be made with margarine?
Hi Ingrid, margarine has a different makeup than butter—we do not recommend swapping for it in this recipe.
These cookies had a great flavor and texture!
★★★★★
I will give this recipe five stars. It was amazing and my cookies turned out beautifully. It was my first time trying these cookies ever and I doubled the spices Nutmeg and ground cloves… But I kind of regret not following the original recipe because the spices were a bit overpowering… also I used Pastry flour as that was the only flour in my pantry but it still turned out great!
★★★★★
The texture of the cookie is perfect but I’m not sure of the flavor. This is my first time making this type of cookie. I love the Trader Joe’s ginger molasses cookie and was trying to recreate them. I didn’t find this cookie to have much flavor. I taste almost a floral taste. I’m thinking that is the molasses maybe. The dough definitely smelled fruity when I was making it. Going to make another batch tomorrow and up the amount of spices.
★★★★
Have you made this with salted butter? It’s all I have!
Hi Natalie! For this recipe, you can just skip the added salt when using salted butter.
Yummy without a doubt. Kept dough very cold between batches.
I first measured the flour then weighed it. Weighing is best and more accurate. Great recipe.
★★★★★
Thanks for this recipe, these were a big hit with my husband and children! I will be making these often:-)
★★★★★
This has become my absolute favorite cookie! No matter where I bring it, I get requests for the recipe. Just for fun, I’ve added a pinch of ground pepper and a pinch of ancho chili, but neither are necessary. This recipe is perfect as it is. Beyond delicious!!
★★★★★
Didn’t come out like pictures. Followed the instructions to gently bang on counter 2-3 times and return to oven. Cookies never cracked. Also , we’re not super soft. They were very crispy.
★★
Hi Mea! It sounds like the cookies may have had excess dry ingredients in the dough – 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 – or use a kitchen scale. You can read more about properly measuring baking ingredients in this post. And always keep an eye on baked goods in the oven to prevent over-baking.
I’ve made these 4 times in the last month. Everyone comments on how delicious they are, ask me when I’m going to make them again. I add an extra half teaspoon of cinnamon and an extra sprinkle of ginger. I roll them in sugar twice. Next time I’m addiing diced candied ginger.
So good! I might have forgotten to add the white sugar. Would this change the shape or texture at all or just make it a little less sweet?
★★★★★
Hi Cheri, Sugar does more than simply sweeten; it adds moisture and aids in browning. Hopefully these still turn out for you!
These were delicious! The ginger gave them a good kick. I ended up getting over 40 cookies out of 1 tablespoon scoops.
★★★★★
Sweet
★★★★★
Can these be made with whole wheat flour, bread flour, pastry flour without any adjustments? I have some other flours that I would sure like to use up…
Hi Mimi, these cookies (and most cookies) are really best with all purpose flour.
Sally I love these! Made them last year several times but they did not puff up!! What did I do wrong? Still yummy but not as pretty.
Hi Kimberly! Did they spread out? Here’s our best tips for preventing cookies from spreading. We also recommend checking that your baking soda is fresh.
Best molasses cookies ever! Soft and perfect. Everyone who tries them falls in love.
★★★★★
These are melt in your mouth good. My mom, who doesn’t normally love sweets, couldn’t get enough of them!
★★★★★
These are perfection they always come out beautifully. The taste is so delicious my family loves them.
★★★★★
Great reciepe added 1 more tsp vanilla and slightly less clove,nutmeg.
★★★★★
These were the BEST molasses cookies I have ever tasted! My family and guests loved them as much as I did – thanks!
★★★★★
I had a hankering for a ginger molasses cookie, found your recipe during my online search, and made a batch yesterday using Bob’s 1 to 1 Gluten Free All Purpose Flour (so that I could share them with friends on a gluten free diet). Overjoyed to report they were scrumptious and beautiful! Many thanks for this stellar recipe!
These are dangerously delicious!!!!!
Oh my gosh! I wanted a change from making chocolate chip cookies and the Seriously Soft Molasses cookies sounded so good. They are delicious. Got to make them again.
Perfect!
★★★★★
These are fabulous! Soft, chewy, delicious. My family loves them!
★★★★★