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 (gingerbread 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!).
Sally’s Cookie Palooza
This recipe is part of my annual cookie countdown called Sally’s Cookie Palooza. It’s the biggest, most delicious event of the year! Browse dozens of cookie recipes over on the Sally’s Cookie Palooza page including:
- Chocolate Butter Cookies
- Easy Cookie Icing
- Peanut Butter Blossoms
- Lemon Crinkles
- Gingerbread Cookie Bars
and here are 75+ Christmas cookies with all my best success guides & tips.
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 (12 Tbsp; 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 handheld 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 (affiliate links): Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats 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.
Loved this recipe! I didn’t have cloves so I used pumpkin pie spice and a little extra cinnamon. My family loved the chewy texture and flavor. Was asked to bring them to Thanksgiving as an alternative for those who don’t like pie.
I made these cookies according to the directions by weighing the ingredients. The turned out to look like the photos but didn’t have much flavor. They would be great if you like mild flavor molasses cookies. Personal preference is to have more spices.
I dunno why mine don’t look like the picture. Mine turned out really puffy. Only some of them cracked when whacking against the counter. I followed the recipe exactly. I even sifted and leveled the flour. I also had to shorten the bake time to 10 mins because otherwise they turned out too crispy. They are delicious! But just a bit disappointed that they were so puffy and even kinda dry. I suspect our oven is not the best as other recipes also turn out not quite right…
These are amazing and exactly what I imagined.
Mine are still a little puffier than yours. I know I don’t measure out exactly 1 tbsp of dough, so I’m thinking that’s why?
I also freeze for about an 1 hour but don’t particularly wait to start rolling.
Any thoughts? Otherwise I love them and have already made them for my apartment floors holiday party
Hi Praxie, We are so glad you enjoyed these cookies! Next time, try cooling the dough in the refrigerator instead of the freezer (or let sit at room temperature a bit after removing from the freezer). The cookies may not spread in the oven if the dough is that cold.
Delicious. My husband kept coming back for more.
My question is one cookie on each sheet really spread while the others came out perfect. Why would only 1
Cookie spread….cooked directly from fridge.
Hi Candace, that’s odd that only one cookie on each sheet would spread. It’s possible your oven has some hot spots, which causes uneven baking even among cookies on the same sheet. We’re glad the cookies were a hit!
Hi Sally! Have you ever tried icing on these cookies?
Hi Leah, yes I have! I’ve decorated them with this easy cookie icing before. Or you could spread some cream cheese frosting on them.
Thank you!! If I use icing should I skip rolling the cookies in sugar?
Hi, can you use fresh grated ginger in these cookies?
Hi Anita, we haven’t tested it but you should be able to use fresh grated ginger. Just remember that fresh ginger isn’t as strong as ground dried ginger so you will need to use more, and you should grate it as finely as possible.
Help! Am I missing it? I can’t find what oven temp to bake them. ♀️
Hi Janet, bake these cookies at 350°F (177°C) (step 4). Enjoy!
These were amazing! I couldn’t find my moms recipe so I looked online and found yours. The whole family loved them!
These turned out perfectly! Exactly as I’d hoped for, after trying a few other recipes. The dough was creamy and light enough to result in the perfect flattened, cracked, moist and chewy cookie. Chewy molasses cookies are pure childhood nostalgia. I made the dough balls slightly larger, about 2.5 tbsp to 3 tbsp and spread out the dough balls more on the baking sheet. They’re the perfect size, not too small and not too big. It yielded about 15 cookies. Thanks again for the recipe, it’s a keeper!
Hi, I’m wondering if I change the size of the cookie dough balls to 2 tbsp (I want a larger cookie), would I have to adjust anything else in the recipe?
Hi Olivia, bake time will be slightly longer. Hope you love them!
Delicious thank you!
Delicious! Will add this to my favorite cookie recipes
Can you add jam on top of these before putting them in the oven?
Hi Krista! We haven’t tested it, but the jam may melt into/off of the cookies.
These cookies are perfection! I’m so glad you give gm weight for the ingredients too. The tops cracked nicely without banging on the counter. TY!!!
Can you use regular butter (salted)
Sure can – for this recipe, you can just skip the added salt when using salted butter.
Sally, these were wonderful!!! theyre the only cookies i ever made that came out EXACTLY like the pictures! Thank you!
Excellent recipe. Great spicy flavor. I got about 2 dozen cookies from the recipe. I made mine a little bigger. So glad I found this recipe.
Love these! I had never made molasses cookies before and this recipe is easy to follow and make. Would recommend and this is the 2nd batch I’ve made this month!
hi. great cookies. Can you cut the brown sugar a bit and add more molasses?
Hi Alison, you can try reducing the brown sugar if you’d like, but it plays a large role in the taste and texture of the cookies so we’re unsure of the results with less brown sugar. We’d also caution against adding more molasses, as the added liquid will likely need more dry ingredients to help keep the dough at an ideal consistency. If you decide to do any experimenting, we’d love to know how it goes.
Thanks for the help. I will let you know my results if I experiment
I love these cookies and am preparing to make a much larger batch for a big family thanksgiving! Any tips on scaling this recipe while still getting the perfect results? It seems like when I double the recipe I don’t get quite as much rise and the cookies end up flatter and more crumbly, but I don’t change any of my procedures, so any tips are greatly appreciated!
By the way I am at approx 4000 ft altitude if that helps
Hi Trisha, it could definitely be an altitude issue! I wish we could help, but have no experience baking at high altitude. Some readers have found this chart helpful: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/high-altitude-baking.html
These were soft and delicious! My coworkers loved them and wanted the recipe.
I gave it 5 stars even though mine didn’t crackle on top, no matter how much I banged the baking sheet on the counter:)
Hi there I baked a lot of online ginger cookies recipe but none of them comes out like they showing in the picture. spread too much and the totally different far from the picture. Even though I followed their recipes. I like to try your recipes you have, watches is not much different of the other online recipes, but I am not sure if it comes out exactly like the showing in the picture I don’t want to waste Time and product.
Hi Maryam, if the recipe is followed closely, the cookies should turn out like you see in the photos. Hope you enjoy this recipe!
Wondering if you’ve ever substituted ginger puree (comes in a tube) for ground ginger?
We haven’t – but fear it would be too wet for these cookies and would require some testing. Let us know if you try anything!
What is the reason for refrigerating the dough? I did not do this step and the cookies turned out good. Great flavor and soft.
Hi Kim, chilling the dough ensures that the cookies won’t spread too much in the oven. So glad they turned out for you!
I had been looking for a good recipe for molasses cookies since the are my favorite and haven’t had them for a real long time. So I googled for a recipe and It came up to this one and they looked so delicious and so perfect!! I thought there is no way I could get my cookies to look like these but I thought, I don’t really care about the looks, I just want the good taste! I studied over the recipe and even read the comments but basically what I got from the advice was to follow the recipe exactly as it is! So that’s what I did and they came out exactly the way they should be and I can’t see how anyone could not get the cracks in the cookies . Thank you so much for a perfect recipe , they are delicious and I had to give a 5 star because they are worth it and then some !!!!!!
We’re so thrilled to hear that these cookies were a hit for you, Rachel! Thank you so much for giving our recipe a try.
Where is your troubleshooting tips posted? Mine also didn’t crack. A very Cakey cookie, not chewy at all. Good flavor though,
Hi Nancy! A cakey cookie could be the result of too much flour in the dough – how are you measuring? Make sure to spoon and level (not scoop!) to avoid this in the future.
I do that. but where are your troubleshooting tips? Why didn’t they crackle?
Hi Nancy, we don’t have a section in this blog post with troubleshooting tips, but we’re happy to answer your questions! If you decide to try the recipe again, we recommend baking for 1-2 minutes less and using 1 and 3/4 teaspoons baking soda. A little more baking soda will help your cookies achieve that crackled look on top.
Came out as expected. Wonderful. Recommend 2 adds: Chopped candied Chinese Ginger–the spicy kind. Fresh cracked tri-mix pepper. Enjoy!
I have not made these cookies yet, but am reading the comments. What is the position of the cookie sheet in the oven?? Would that make a difference for the spreading and crackling issues that people are talking about?
Hi Alisa, we recommend baking these cookies on the middle rack. Position relative to the heating element can certainly make a difference in the ability of the cookies to crack, as well as several other factors. See post for troubleshooting tips if yours aren’t achieving the cracks. Hope you enjoy these cookies!
Made these today, came out perfect. So delicious!!
Not chewy at all. I baked them for 11 minutes and they came out hard and dry.
Love this recipe! It was one of my dad’s favorites and the last ones I made him before he passed. I have read a lot of the comments, and apologize if you have responded to this question before, but can you double the recipe? Thanks for all of your great recipes.
Hi Kaye, how sweet that these cookies bring back fond memories for you. Yes, you can double this recipe. Enjoy!
My cookies would not crack even hitting the counter three times & putting them back in the oven for a minute. I was disappointed….
Barbara,
I do not know what altitude you’re at, but I had to adjust this recipe for 6800 feet above sea level. This has been an interesting challenge since I moved from sea level.
I added 20 grams of flour, decreased the baking soda to 6 grams. Increased the temp to 360º F and check at 10m 30s.
I use half sheets with raised sides, after removing the sheet from the oven I place it on a cooling rack, after 1 minute rest, with a gloved hand I drag the parchment over the edge of the sheet onto another cooling rack, as the cookies cross the edge they flatten and crack. After a couple of minutes I slide the cookies onto the cooling rack.
With the adaptions these cookies have turned out greater and have been a very big hit with everyone who has had them.
These cookies are seriously soft, and they baked up exactly as pictured. I took them to a group dinner, and there are none left! These would be great for a holiday cookie trade.