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Christmas and Soft Ginger Molasses Cookies just belong together! They are so quick and easy to make, taste amazing and are perfect for a cookie exchange.
What’s to love
- Perfect texture. Sugary crunch on the outside and softness on the inside – the perfect molasses cookie!
- Quick and easy. The dough is quick to make and you only need to freeze the cookies for a short amount of time once they are shaped – simple and delicious!
- Pretty without much work. The best part? With the sparkly sugar crystals all around, they’re pretty enough so you don’t need to add any fancy decorations. Holiday win!
If you like thick and soft cookies with plenty of warm spices and Christmas flavors 🤶🏻🎄✨ this is the recipe for you!
Printable recipe
Ingredients
- 2-¼ cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled (if you scoop your flour with the cup, use 2 cups))
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup unsalted butter ((12 tablespoons or 1-½ sticks))
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup light brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup molasses (NOT blackstrap)
For rolling
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
Tips
- Do not use baking powder in place of the baking soda. The cookies may change their shape and texture with baking powder.
- Don’t add more flour. The dough is very, very soft. If it is too soft to roll into balls, let it stand for 5-10 minutes. The flour should absorb some of the liquid and the dough should be more manageable now. Resist the urge to add more flour (unless it’s wet and almost paste-like). If you add too much flour, the cookies won’t flatten out as much as they should in the oven.
- Pay attention while baking them. They are easily over-baked, which results in dry cookies. Depending on how your oven runs and how large you make them, they may be done after 6 minutes – or need a full 12 minutes. It’s best to bake a test batch of two to three cookies before baking them all. That way you can figure out your best baking time!
- Store the cooled cookies in an airtight cookie jar on the counter for 5-7 days.
Instructions
- Prep:These cookies need to be frozen for 20-30 minutes before baking, so you will only need to preheat the oven once they are in the freezer (baking temperature is 375°F).Get your ingredients ready.
- Prepare dry ingredients:Whisk together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl.2-¼ cups all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons ground ginger, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground cloves, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ¼ teaspoon salt
- Prepare wet ingredients:Beat the butter in a separate large bowl on medium-high speed with an electric mixer until pale and softened. Add both sugars and cream together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy – about 2-3 minutes.Add the egg and molasses and cream together on medium speed until JUST combined – do not overmix at this point.¾ cup unsalted butter, ½ cup granulated sugar, ¼ cup light brown sugar, 1 large egg, ¼ cup molasses
- Make dough:Add the dry to the wet ingredients and combine into a cookie dough on low speed – do not overmix, only until no more dry flour is visible and the dough comes together.Note: Once you add the dry ingredients, only mix for as long as you need to make a soft cookie dough. Don’t attempt to knead it, it’s too sticky.
- Shape cookies:Scoop off heaping tablespoons of dough, roll them into balls with slightly damp hands, then roll in sugar. Freeze for 20-30 minutes.Note: Dampen your hands slightly to roll the dough into balls. By just very lightly dampening your hands (not too much, or the cookie dough balls will end up soggy), the dough sticks less to your hands and it’s easier to roll them.¼ cup granulated sugar
- Bake:When ready to bake, heat oven to 375°F. Place cookies on lined baking sheets, spaced 2 inches apart (keep remaining unbaked cookies in the freezer until you are ready to bake the next batch.)Bake cookies, one tray at a time, for 8-12 minutes or until puffed up and set around the edges, with cracks in the surface.
- Cool:Allow the cookies to cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes, then remove to a wire rack and cool completely. The cookies will flatten
Video
Soft Molasses Cookies
make your kitchen smell like home?Soft Ginger Molasses Cookies FAQs
Store the cooled cookies in an airtight cookie jar on the counter for 5-7 days.
Yes, this is a great cookie recipe for the freezer!
To freeze the unbaked cookie dough:
Freezing the cookies dough already rolled into balls (but not dipped in sugar) works best here. Just place them on a lined baking sheet and freeze for 1-2 hours, or until solid.
Then transfer to a freezer bag and label with the name and use-by date (freeze for up to 3 months) before placing in the freezer.
To bake, remove from the freezer bag and let sit at room temperature on a plate for 15 minutes while your oven preheats. Roll the cookie dough in sugar and bake as directed in the recipe, adding a couple of extra minutes to the baking time.
To freeze baked cookies:
Freeze baked cookies in layers in a freezer-friendly container, separating each layer with wax paper. Label with the name and use-by date (freeze for up to 3 months), then place in the freezer.
To defrost, remove the cookies from the container and let them sit at room temperature on a wire rack for a couple of hours, or until defrosted.
Real butter works best in this recipe, but you can use margarine if needed. Make sure to use stick margarine and NOT a spreadable margarine!
Use sweet, dark molasses for best results in this recipe (like Grandma’s brand). Please do not use blackstrap molasses, they are too bitter to be used in this cookie recipe.
Perfect to serve with
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Rachel Perlow says
Easy and I found the freezing step fortuitous, as this way I could just bake however many I wanted at a time in my toaster, oven, and leave the rest in the freezer. I feel like they are slightly too sweet, maybe next time I’ll reduce the sugar by 1/4 cup.
Brooke says
We made these for Christmas and loved them. My children couldn’t stop eating them! Since Christmas I came down with Covid and it really did a number on my stomach. Once I felt better, these were the first foods I craved. That said, we just pulled them out of the oven and once again, they are going like hot cakes ;). This time I added candid ginger to up the ginger and they are also delicious. Thank you for all the tips provided as well; very helpful!
Nora says
Brooke, I’m sorry to hear you fell ill! I’m glad you’ve got your appetite back, and I’m so happy to hear you and your family like the cookies so much!
Mamie Sims says
I felt like I wanted a cookie, so looked up a recipe , printed it out ,found I had to FREEZE it first ,so much for that recipe !
Nora says
I’m sorry you found this disappointing. But it’s not uncommon for a cookie recipe to require chilling time.
Kelly says
I made these for my son- in-law for Christmas. I loved how easy and yummy they turned out.