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Chewy Ginger Molasses Cookies

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These Chewy Ginger Molasses Cookies are easy to make, super-soft and chewy, and irresistibly delicious.

Chewy Ginger Molasses Cookies

It seems a bold move to declare an all-time favorite cookie. But after having been on Team Molasses for going on over three decades now, and already whipped up my third batch of molasses dough in a month, I’ve gotta say that I don’t foresee any allegiance shifts happening soon. So with that said, allow me to introduce you to my all-time favorite cookies…

…the most delicious, soft, chewy, gingery, life-changing molasses cookies

My love for these molasses cookies is entirely thanks to my mom, who baked fresh batches of cookies for our family pretty much every week when we were growing up. Granted, she was always a bit mystified that her oldest daughter (hi, Mom) never inherited her obsession with all kinds of chocolate cookies, which will forever and always be her all-time faves. But molasses cookies were always a compromise we could both agree on. We both love these cookies.

This time of year, they are still the first recipe to which I always turn for holiday cookie baking. And this year in particular, they’ve been extra fun to share with all of our European friends who — as it turns out — maybe love them even more than we do! Ha, every time that we have served them to our friends, and our Spanish class, our neighbors, everyone goes crazy for them. Which means that we never come home with leftovers. Which just means that we have to keep baking more, naturally. Which requires exactly zero twisting of my arm. More molasses cookies for all!

Anyway, these cookies are clearly a hit. So as part of our week of cookies here on the blog, I thought I would bump this recipe back up to the top of the pile today for some non-chocolate cookie inspiration. I initially shared this recipe on the blog nine years ago. But that said, a number of you have reported over the years that your cookies have spread a bit more than you like. So I’ve been tinkering around with our family recipe this fall, and have made a few small adjustments to the recipe below that should help them to stay nice and thick and chewy, without compromising the flavor of the cookies at all. (Although if your cookies do ever flatten out, I promise they’ll still be delicious.)

So I hope that you enjoy them as much as we do, and if you decide to bake up a batch, I’d love to hear how they go! Enjoy, everyone!

Chewy Ginger Molasses Cookies Recipe | 1-Minute Video

Chewy Ginger Molasses Cookies Ingredients:

To make this chewy ginger molasses cookies recipe, you will need:

  • Butter: Completely softened to room temperature (not melted, or else it will not cream properly with the sugars)
  • Sugars: I use half granulated (white) sugar, half packed brown sugar, plus extra sugar for rolling the dough balls.
  • Molasses: I typically opt for “original” (versus dark) unsulphured molasses.
  • Eggs and baking soda: Two soft and chewy cookie staples.
  • Flour: I typically use all-purpose flour for this classic recipe, but white whole wheat flour can work too.
  • Spices: We will use a mixture of ground ginger, cinnamon and cloves. Feel free to tinker around with the spice proportions to taste.
  • Salt: To bring out all of those delicious flavors.

How To Make Molasses Cookies

How To Make Molasses Cookies:

To make these homemade molasses cookies, simply:

  1. Whisk together dry ingredients. Flour, soda, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and salt.
  2. Cream together butter and sugars. Using a separate mixing bowl, either with a stand mixer or a hand mixer, cream together the softened butter and sugars on medium-high speed until the mixture is light and fluffy and a pale yellow color, about 2 minutes, scraping down the sides occasionally as needed.
  3. Mix in the remaining wet and dry ingredients. Mix in the eggs (one at a time) and molasses, and beat on medium-low speed until each is combined. Gradually add in the dry ingredient mixture and beat until it is evenly incorporated.
  4. Chill the dough. Transfer the dough to an airtight container and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or until the dough is completely chilled. I know — the extra chilling time is substantial, and very tempting to skip. But this particular dough, with all of its butter and molasses, really does need a thorough chilling to prevent the cookies from spreading. Worth the wait, I promise. :)
  5. Preheat oven. Heat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat, and set aside.
  6. Roll the dough balls. Once the dough is chilled and firm, roll the dough into small balls, about 1-inch in diameter. Fill a separate small bowl with sugar, and roll each ball in the sugar until it is completely coated. Place dough balls on the prepared baking sheet.
  7. Bake. Bake for about 8-10 minutes, until the cookies begin to slightly crack on top. (They will crack more while cooling.)  Remove from the oven and let cool for 4-5 minutes. Then transfer the cookies to wire racks to cool completely.
  8. Serve. Serve warm and enjoy, or store in a sealed container for up to 4 days. Or freeze for up to 3 months.

Ginger Molasses Cookie Recipe

Possible Variations:

Want to mix things up with your ginger cookies? Feel free to:

  • Add in extra ginger: I also really love adding some chopped crystallized ginger to these cookies for added ginger flavor and crunch.
  • Frost your cookies: A really light glaze is delicious atop these cookies. Or if you really want to go for it, cream cheese frosting is divine.

Chewy Ginger Molasses Cookie Recipe

More Favorite Cookie Recipes:

Looking for more delicious cookie inspiration? Feel free to check out our full collection of cookie recipes, or any of these other favorite classic cookies:

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Chewy Ginger Molasses Cookies

Chewy Ginger Molasses Cookies

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.7 from 583 reviews
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 10 minutes
  • Total Time: 25 minutes
  • Yield: 0 About 42-46 cookies 1x

Description

These Chewy Ginger Molasses Cookies are easy to make, super-soft and chewy, and irresistibly delicious.  Feel free to halve this recipe if you would like a smaller batch!


Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened to room temperature (not melted*)
  • 1 cup granulated (white) sugar
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup unsulphured molasses
  • 2 eggs
  • 4 1/2 cups (639 grams) all-purpose flour
  • 4 teaspoons baking soda*
  • 1 tablespoon ground ginger
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1 teaspoon salt

Instructions

  1. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, soda, cinnamon, cloves, ginger and salt. Set aside.
  2. Using a separate mixing bowl, either with a stand mixer or a hand mixer, cream together the softened butter and sugars on medium-high speed until the mixture is light and fluffy and a pale yellow color, about 2 minutes, scraping down the sides occasionally as needed. Mix in the eggs (one at a time) and molasses, and beat on medium-low speed until each is combined. Gradually add in the dry ingredient mixture and beat until it is evenly incorporated.
  3. Transfer the dough to an airtight container and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or until the dough is completely chilled.
  4. Preheat oven to 350°F.  Line a sheet pan with parchment paper; set aside.
  5. Roll the dough into small balls, about 1-inch in diameter. Fill a separate small bowl with sugar, and roll each ball in the sugar until it is completely coated. Place dough balls on the prepared baking sheet.
  6. Bake for about 8-10 minutes, until the cookies begin to slightly crack on top.  (They will crack more while cooling.)  Remove from the oven and let cool for 4-5 minutes. Then transfer the cookies to wire racks to cool completely.
  7. Serve warm and enjoy, or store in a sealed container for up to 4 days.  Or freeze for up to 3 months.


Notes

Baking soda amount: Because this question comes up occasionally in the comment section — yes, this amount is correct. The recipe needs 4 teaspoons of baking soda to rise properly.

 

This recipe contains affiliate links.

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1,410 comments on “Chewy Ginger Molasses Cookies”

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  1. These are absolutely delicious! I froze most of the recipe to give away later in the holiday season. The baked cookies stay super soft if you store them in an airtight container with a small piece of bread. This will be a holiday go-to!






  2. I’m so excited to bake these cookies! I was thinking of making them for a Cookie Exchange, but I’m concerned about the “shelf life,” as the recipe says I can store them for up to 4 days in a sealed container. I would need them to last for at least a week or two, given that I have to package and ship them. Does anyone know if they will last longer than 4 days in a sealed container? Do they go bad after that, or do they just get harder? Thanks in advance!

    • I love this recipe! I bake them early in the season and store in an airtight container. I keep my cookies in the garage all winter 5C and they keep few a month or two if we can stop ourselves from eating them. Beyond 4 days I think they get a little less chewy, but under bake them and they’ll be ok. They’re no different than any other recipe. Nothing more perishable than any other cookie you might bake.






    • Due to a lazy thyroid I need to be gluten free. I am going to make these with GF all purpose flour because obviously “molasses cooky!” Wish me luck!

  3. I love these classic cookies. My grandma made them when I was a kid. I have already made 4 batches this year haha. Frosted and un frosted.






    • I’m having such a hard time with this recipe and not sure why. They came out completely flat . I tried a second time with all new Ingredients and it happened again. Help. The flavor is delicious they just done look pretty

  4. Does anyone know if there is a maximum amount of time for chilling – I was hoping to make these for a party on Wednesday and wondering if I make the dough two days prior if they’ll be stale?

    • I have made this recipe at least a half dozen times. I have had great success making the dough and leaving it in the refrigerator for up to three days (just make sure it’s covered tightly or it will dry out).

      The dough is a little harder to roll into balls when it’s been chilled that long, but once you muscle them into small balls and roll them in the sugar, they still bake perfectly! I like this method because I can save time the day of my event and everyone still gets fresh baked cookies.

      People RAVE ABOUT THEM – this is hands-down my favorite cookie recipe! :)






    • To add to Jeannine’s comment, you can also roll them into balls first, then refrigerate them. Makes it much easier later.

  5. Also wondering how long, like maximum time the dough can be chilled?

  6. Man, these are great! Made the recipe as-is and they instantly bring me back to grandma’s house. The only thing is that this recipe made closer to 80-100 cookies. This is, however, the opposite of a problem






  7. Oh my goodness, these are perfect! I didn’t roll them in sugar (cutting back on carbs lol) which might explain why they spread a little more, but they were still so perfect! Especially with a little vanilla ice cream between 2 of them! Absolutely divine…will try eggnog ice cream next.






  8. Excellent recipe
    Crispy outside and chewy inside
    Left out cloves and added finely chopped crystallized ginger
    Rolled into balls then froze and cooked batches as requested so they could be served warm
    Delicious!
    Went down very well with mulled wine too
    Thanks for sharing the recipe






  9. These are delicious and so simple to make. I have a bad arm so I’m a fan of using the mixer 👍🏼 and not hand stirring.
    I took them to our family Christmas party 🎉 and they were a big hit.
    What is the calorie count in these cookies?
    Melody






  10. Can I freeze these after baking?

  11. I’ve been hunting for a chewy molasses ginger cookie forever, and this is THE one I’ve been searching for!! Make sure you weigh the flour and use the 639 grams which is more than 4-1/2 cups. Just do it. Also, I make the dough, then I scoop it into balls and THEN I refrigerate the ones I want to bake that day and freeze the rest. When I want to use the cookies, I get them out and let them thaw a couple of minutes, roll them in the natural cane turbinado sugar (Sugar in the Raw) and bake them at 350 for 10 minutes. Let them cool a couple minutes in the pan and then transfer to the cooling rack. Then watch them disappear!






  12. This is by far the best ginger cookie out there. I have made this cookie for an annual cookie exchange that I have been participating in for the past 5 years and everyone loves them! Nothing says Christmas like ginger cookies. Add this to your list of goodies to bake during the holidays – you will not regret it.






  13. This was my first time baking ginger cookies & these did not disappoint. I followed the recipe exactly as written (measured about 20 grams for each cookie). I added an orange glaze to half the batch. These were so chewy, soft and just the right amount of spice.






  14. FABULOUS! One of the absolute best cookies I have made in awhile! Nice and spicy with that tablespoon of ground ginger! I followed both ingredients and instructions to a T. I baked mine for 9 minutes and they were ever so slightly underbaked but left them on the cookie sheet and the result was chewy soft perfection! 10/10…. thank you!!!






  15. I accidentally used a different recipe that didn’t used brown sugar. Otherwise it was pretty close to this 1
    BIG mistake.
    This is the ONLY recipe to use. Perfectly portrayed in the picture & description. It was a good lesson though.






  16. The cookies were very flavorful and I loved the spices. The texture was good, too. However, for me, they were too sweet. Next time I make them, I will reduce the sugar by a bit. Overall, good cookie.






  17. These are the BEST cookies. I make these every year, and every time they’re received with resounding excitement! And throughout the year, people will often recall these cookies and ask when I’ll be making them again. Truly the best, crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside with the perfect amount of sweetness. The only “caution” I have is that this recipe yields a very large quantity, so I often only use half of the dough and freeze the rest for another time.






  18. Just like Mama made. Thank you.






  19. Best soft ginger molasses cookie recipe! The cookies do not have an over powering taste of baking soda, like some other recipes I have tried.






  20. I love these cookies because:

    1. They’re delicious
    2. They’re pretty forgiving on bake time, i.e. you don’t have to remove them from the oven in a perfect 10-second window like most other cookies (the window is a couple minutes in my experience.)
    3. They stay soft and chewy for DAYS.

    The day before I make these, I peel and mince a big ginger root and cook it down (30 mins in boiling water, 15 mins in sugar syrup) to make candied ginger. Then, I mix the tiny ginger bits into the dough with the last third of the flour. It makes them SUPER gingery!






  21. This is a FANTASTIC recipe. Made exactly as written. Took the advice of one reviewer and rolled into balls before refrigerating – good call. Thank you for such a delicious treat. Will be making these for friends again very soon.

  22. DELICIOUS. I halved the recipe. The dough yields many cookies! Yummy






  23. These are so, so delicious. I halved the recipe and got 32 cookies!