The short answer: Molasses cookies are thick, chewy spice cookies with crackly sugar tops. **Cream ¾ cup of butter with 1 cup of packed brown sugar, beat in 1 egg and ¼ cup of molasses, then stir in 2¼ cups of flour, 2 teaspoons of baking soda, 1½ teaspoons of ginger, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, ½ teaspoon of cloves and ½ teaspoon of salt.
Our picks for molasses cookies
Printables
Christmas Budget & Gift Planner
Set a budget for every person, log each purchase, and watch what's left - plus printable gift, card, menu and to-do pages.
Save 38%Bundles
Holiday Season Bundle
Plan Christmas, save for it all year, and host without the January money hangover.
Printables
Family Recipe Binder
Section dividers, four recipe page layouts with room for the family story, 4x6 and 3x5 cards and a conversion chart - print it or type into the fillable version.
Chill the dough for 1 hour, roll 1½-inch balls in sugar and bake at 350°F for 9 to 11 minutes.** Pull them while the centers still look soft. Below are the amounts, the crinkle-top trick, fixes and how to freeze them for gifts.
I love giving homemade treats at Christmas, and molasses cookies are the ones that still taste fresh after a week in a tin.
Molasses cookie ingredients
| Ingredient | Amount | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Unsalted butter, softened | ¾ cup (1½ sticks) | Richness and chew |
| Brown sugar, packed | 1 cup | Moisture and caramel flavor |
| Egg | 1 large | Structure |
| Unsulphured molasses | ¼ cup | Flavor, color and chew |
| All-purpose flour | 2¼ cups | Spoon and level it |
| Baking soda | 2 teaspoons | Lift and crackly tops |
| Ground ginger | 1½ teaspoons | |
| Ground cinnamon | 1 teaspoon | |
| Ground cloves | ½ teaspoon | |
| Salt | ½ teaspoon | |
| Granulated or coarse sugar | ⅓ cup | For rolling |
How to make molasses cookies, step by step
- Cream. Beat the butter and brown sugar for 2 minutes, until fluffy.
- Add the wet ingredients. Beat in the egg, then the molasses.
- Mix the dry ingredients. Whisk the flour, baking soda, spices and salt, then stir them into the butter mixture until no flour shows.
- Chill. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or up to 3 days.
- Roll. Heat the oven to 350°F and line two sheets with parchment. Roll 1½-inch balls and coat them in sugar. Space them 2 inches apart.
- Bake for 9 to 11 minutes, until the tops crack and the edges set but the centers look slightly soft.
- Cool on the sheet for 5 minutes, then move them to a rack.
Don't taste the raw dough. The FDA's flour safety guidance explains that raw flour and raw eggs can carry germs until they're baked.
Texture guide
| You want | Do this |
|---|---|
| Extra chewy | Bake 9 minutes; add 1 extra tablespoon of molasses |
| Crisper edges | Bake 11 to 12 minutes |
| Bigger crinkles | Roll in coarse sanding sugar; don't flatten |
| Thicker cookies | Chill the dough overnight |
| Spicier | Add ¼ teaspoon black pepper or 1 tablespoon minced crystallized ginger |
Fixes for common problems
- Spread flat: the dough was warm or the butter was too soft. Chill the balls for 15 minutes on the sheet before baking.
- No cracks on top: the baking soda may be old, or the balls were rolled too smooth. Use fresh soda and coat them generously in sugar.
- Hard the next day: they were overbaked. Store them with a slice of bread in the tin to soften them.
- Bitter: blackstrap molasses was used. Stick to regular or mild molasses.
Make them ahead for cookie tins
Molasses cookies are a smart early bake for a Christmas cookie box because they keep their texture. The USDA's freezing guide notes that frozen food stays safe indefinitely and that quality is the only limit, so freeze baked cookies or rolled dough balls for up to 3 months for the best flavor. Thaw baked cookies in the closed container so they don't sweat. Plan the whole season's bakes with our Christmas baking list, and see more favorites on our Christmas cookies list.
Molasses cookie variations
| Variation | Change | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Ginger molasses | Add 2 tablespoons minced crystallized ginger | Spice lovers |
| Iced molasses | Drizzle cooled cookies with powdered sugar and milk glaze | Cookie trays |
| Molasses sandwich | Fill two cookies with cream cheese frosting | Dessert tables |
| Whole wheat | Swap 1 cup of the flour for white whole wheat flour | A heartier, nuttier cookie |
| Dairy-free | Use a plant-based butter stick | Guests who skip dairy |
| Chocolate chunk | Fold in ¾ cup dark chocolate chunks | Mixed cookie tins |
Count the cost of the tins
Spices and molasses last for several batches, which makes molasses cookies one of the cheaper homemade gifts per tin. Write down who's getting one before you bake so you know how many batches to make. Use our chocolate crinkle cookies recipe notes when you want a chocolate cookie with a powdered-sugar finish. For another spiced cookie on the tray, try pumpkin chocolate chip cookies in a separate batch.
- Christmas Budget & Gift Planner, $4.99. A gift list with a budget column, so every tin, ribbon and stamp is counted.
- Holiday Season Bundle, $15.99 (regularly $25.94 for the six items bought separately). Adds the Meal Planner & Grocery List for your baking-day shopping, plus a cleaning schedule and savings trackers.
- Family Recipe Binder, $6.99. Keep this molasses cookie recipe, and the bake time your oven likes, in one place.
Find more in the Holiday shop and across our Printables. The free Holiday Budget Starter Kit is 3 US Letter pages, emailed after you join the list.
Christmas Budget & Gift Planner
Set a budget for every person, log each purchase, and watch what's left - plus printable gift, card, menu and to-do pages.
$4.99 · Instant download. Print at home or fill it in on screen. Or browse the full Holidays collection.
Frequently asked questions
How do you make molasses cookies? To make molasses cookies, cream ¾ cup of butter with 1 cup of brown sugar, beat in an egg and ¼ cup of molasses, then mix in 2¼ cups of flour, 2 teaspoons of baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves and salt. Chill the dough, roll 1½-inch balls in sugar and bake at 350°F for 9 to 11 minutes.
How do you keep molasses cookies soft and chewy? Molasses cookies stay soft and chewy when you pull them from the oven while the centers still look slightly underdone. Brown sugar and molasses hold moisture, and an airtight tin keeps them soft for up to a week.
How do you get crinkle tops on molasses cookies? Crinkle tops come from rolling the chilled dough balls in granulated or coarse sugar and from the baking soda reacting with the molasses. Don't flatten the balls; they crack as they spread.
What kind of molasses is best for cookies? Unsulphured regular or mild molasses is best for cookies. Blackstrap molasses is much stronger and more bitter, so swap in no more than a tablespoon of it.
Do I have to chill molasses cookie dough? Yes, you have to chill molasses cookie dough for at least 1 hour. It's soft and sticky at first, and chilling keeps the cookies from spreading flat and makes the balls easy to roll.
What's the difference between molasses cookies and gingersnaps? Molasses cookies are thick, soft and chewy, while gingersnaps are thinner, crisp and usually spicier. Both use molasses and ginger; gingersnaps bake longer and often use more ginger.
How long do molasses cookies last? Molasses cookies last about 1 week in an airtight container at room temperature. Baked cookies freeze for up to 3 months, and that's what makes them a good make-ahead gift.
Can you freeze molasses cookie dough? Yes, freeze the rolled dough balls (without the sugar coating) on a sheet, then bag them for up to 3 months. Roll them in sugar and bake from frozen, adding 1 to 2 minutes.
How many cookies does one batch make? One batch makes about 30 cookies from 1½-inch balls. That fills 3 to 4 small gift tins of 8 to 10 cookies each.
How do I budget for a cookie gift list? Count the tins you need, price one batch and add containers and postage. The Christmas Budget & Gift Planner from HomeBase Paper Co. ($4.99) lists each person and the real cost of what they're getting.
Sources
- FDA: Handling flour safely fda.gov
- USDA FSIS: Freezing and food safety fsis.usda.gov