Old Fashioned Molasses Cookies are bursting with rich, warm flavor from molasses, cloves, ginger, and cinnamon. The perfect cookie for the Holiday season!
The combination of molasses, cloves, ginger, and cinnamon will make your house smell amazing! And the flavor of these cookies will make your tastebuds sing!
OLD FASHIONED MOLASSES COOKIES
If you’ve followed my site for a while, you know that I have this Blue Ribbon Chewy Molasses Ginger Cookie Recipe. While these two molasses cookie recipes have similar ingredients the ratios make the taste and texture very different. Both are good but different.
This recipe makes a lot so if you make cookies for a cookie exchange, this is a great recipe for that. However, you can easily half the recipe if you don’t want 60(ish) cookies.
I rolled each ball of cookie dough in granulated sugar before baking. Although, it’s hard to see the sugar in the photos. This is optional.
You can frost these cookies if you want. Brown Butter Frosting would be good. As well, Cream Cheese Frosting would be good.
What’s the Difference Between Molasses, Gingersnap, and Gingerbread Cookies?
Molasses cookies, gingersnaps, and gingerbread cookies all contain the staple cookie dough ingredients like flour, sugar, butter, eggs, baking powder, baking soda, and salt with the inclusion of two key additions: 1. molasses, and 2. a variety of holiday spices like nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon, and sometimes cloves.
- The main difference between molasses cookies and gingersnap cookies is that molasses cookies are chewy, whereas ginger cookies that are snappier and crisper in texture. The ideal gingersnap is crispy on the outside and slightly chewy on the inside.
- While they do have ginger in them, molasses cookies often contain anywhere from 1/2 to 1.5 teaspoons less ginger than gingersnap cookies.
- Surprisingly, both molasses cookies and gingersnap cookies call for about the same amount of molasses, typically around 1/4 cup.
- Using this definition, a recipe for a “Chewy Ginger Cookie” would essentially be synonymous for “Molasses Cookies,” while the term gingersnap should always refer to a crispier cookie.
- Gingersnaps are simply a variation of classic gingerbread cookies. The main differences between gingerbread and gingersnaps are that gingersnaps bake for longer to make them crispy. Gingerbread cookies are a little chewier and almost always rolled out into different shapes like gingerbread men and other holiday figures.
- Clear as mud? It can be confusing!
GENERAL COOKIE MAKING TIPS
- Read through your recipe a couple of times then get out the ingredients and the equipment. This ensures you have everything you need.
- Also, cold ingredients need to be at room temperature, unless specifically stated in the recipe.
- Chill the dough. Almost all cookie dough needs to be chilled after you mix it unless the recipe specifically says not to.
- Cold butter will make a fatter, chewier cookie.
- I use a spring-release scoop to scoop out the dough. This way all the cookies will be the same size. When they’re the same size they’ll be prettier as well they’ll bake more evenly. This way you won’t have some cookies extra crispy and some with raw centers!
- Preheat the oven. You need to calibrate your oven at least once a year. Read How to Calibrate Your Oven.
- Place the dough on a piece of silicone matte on a sheet pan.
HOW DO I STORE OLD FASHIONED MOLASSES COOKIES?
Store baked cookies in an airtight container on the countertop for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 4 months.
If you like to get a headstart on your holiday baking, this cookie dough will keep in the freezer for four months.
As well, you can freeze already baked cookies for six months. I like to layer waxed paper between each cookie and store in an airtight container.
MORE HOLIDAY COOKIES
- Mississippi Mud Cookies with Marshmallow Fluff and Chocolate Frosting
- Loaded Butterfinger Chocolate Chip Toffee Cookies
- Blue Ribbon Chewy Molasses Ginger Cookies
- Ranger Cookies with Chex
- Soft Batch Glazed Lemon Cream Cheese Cookies
- Soft Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookie Recipe
- Pretzel Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies
- Copycat PayDay Bars
- Dark Chocolate Brown Sugar Cookies
- Softbatch Cream Cheese Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Cream Cheese Snickerdoodles
- Original Quaker Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
- Hidden Rolo Snowball Cookies
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Old Fashioned Molasses Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 and ½ cups butter at room temperature
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- ½ cup molasses
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 4 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 4 tablespoons Turbinado sugar or Sparkling sugar, to coat cookie balls
Instructions
- This dough is thick therefore I recommend using an electric mixer! In the bowl of your electric mixer, beat sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides. Mix until combined.
- Add in the eggs and molasses until completely blended. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides. Mix to combine.
- In a separate bowl, mix all of the dry ingredients together. Then, add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix well until combined completely.
- Cover the dough tightly and refrigerate 1 to 12 hours. The dough needs to be thoroughly chilled. When the dough is thoroughly chilled and ready to be rolled, it will be very stiff. When you're ready to bake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Roll the dough into 1-inch balls and coat them with Turbinado sugar. Bake the cookies on a silicone mat on a sheet pan, placed 1-2 inches apart for 10-12 min. The cookies may crackle on top (mine did not). When they're done they will have golden edges.
Nutrition
You can find more recipes at my Recipe Index and at Meal Plan Monday and Weekend Potluck.
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