Chewy Molasses Cookies

Crackle-topped, deeply spiced and soft for days.

Prep Time20 mins
Cook Time11 mins
Total Time1 hr 16 mins
Yield24 cookies
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Before You Start

These are the cookies that fill the kitchen with ginger and clove. Molasses keeps them chewy long after they cool, and a roll in granulated sugar before baking gives that crackled, frosted top. The dough is soft, so a short chill makes it much easier to roll.

Instructions

  1. 1

    Beat the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the molasses and the egg until smooth.

  2. 2

    In another bowl, mix the flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, baking soda and salt. Add it to the wet bowl and mix on low just until no dry flour is left.

  3. 3

    Cover and chill the dough for 45 minutes. It goes from sticky to easy to handle.

  4. 4

    Heat the oven to 180°C / 350°F and line two trays with baking paper. Put the rolling sugar in a shallow bowl.

  5. 5

    Roll the dough into balls, about 1½ tablespoons each, roll them in sugar and space them well apart. They spread a lot.

  6. 6

    Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until puffed and cracked but still soft in the centre. Leave on the tray for 5 minutes to set, then move to a rack.

💡 Baker's tips

  • Pull them while the middles still look underdone. They firm up on the hot tray and that is what keeps them chewy.
  • Use unsulphured molasses. Blackstrap is far more bitter and overwhelms the spice.

🔀 Make it your own

  • Add 100 g chopped crystallised ginger to the dough for extra heat and chew.
  • Sandwich two cookies with cream cheese frosting for a ginger whoopie pie.

📦 Storing & freezing

Airtight at room temperature for 5 days, with a slice of bread in the tin to keep them soft. The rolled dough balls freeze for 3 months, bake from frozen plus 2 minutes.

❓ Frequently asked

How many grams is a cup of molasses?

About 340 g per US cup, so the ¼ cup here is roughly 85 g. Use the molasses converter to rescale.

Why did my molasses cookies turn out cakey?

Usually too much flour. Spoon it into the cup and level it off, or weigh it, since scooping straight from the bag can add 20% extra.

Baking in a different unit? Use the cups ↔ grams converter or the recipe scaler to halve or double this recipe.

More to bake

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