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These Chewy Ginger Molasses Cookies are easy to make, super-soft and chewy, and irresistibly delicious.
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 lovethese 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.
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:
To make these homemade molasses cookies, simply:
Whisk together dry ingredients. Flour, soda, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and salt.
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.
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.
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. :)
Preheat oven. Heat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat, and set aside.
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.
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.
Serve. Serve warm and enjoy, or store in a sealed container for up to 4 days. Or freeze for up to 3 months.
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.
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:
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*)
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, soda, cinnamon, cloves, ginger and salt. Set aside.
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.
Transfer the dough to an airtight container and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or until the dough is completely chilled.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper; set aside.
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.
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.
Serve warm and enjoy, or store in a sealed container for up to 4 days. Or freeze for up to 3 months.
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.
SO GOOD!! I am celiac, so used one-to-one GF flour and they turned out perfectly. I doubled the amount of ginger (because I love a spicy cookie) and boy are they good. I also am a college student, so don’t have a hand mixer (lol) so I mixed using a fork and eventually my hands, and they still turned out perfectly. I will definitely be making these again!
Kim —
My mother is also celiac and has been making these with GF flour and giving them as gifts! I have tried them both ways and there is very little difference.
Perfection! They have the crinkly tops and look just like the photo! They are perfectly flavored, plenty spicy but not overwhelming. The texture is just like you described- chewy and not at ALL cakey. Yes! My half batch made 26 cookies with my small scoop. Can’t wait to add these to my cookie boxes!
Thank you very much for the recipe can you possibly use a gingerbread man cookie cutter with this recipe or is it so chewy that they will fall apart? Thanks again for the recipe!! Can’t wait to try
Best chewy ginger molasses cookie ever!!! Exactly what I have been looking for for years! I made a half batch yesterday because of how many recipes I’ve tried and they’ve been too hard, too sweet, or just not right. I will be making a full batch (or maybe double) tonight because the 1/2 batch is already gone and I only ate one! Thank you thank you thank you!!!!
I’m trying to simplify my baking around Christmas and would love to incorporate these. Do you think I can freeze the dough then remove, slice and bake?
Or, slice, freeze, remove then bake? Help!
I’d like to make these cookies, they look delicious. You have provided the weight in grams for just the flour, do you think you could provide the weight in grams for the butter, sugars and molasses too?
Thanks!
This recipe looks great, but beware when doubling or tripling. It states weighing flour for accuracy. Thing is the weight in grams is not doubled or tripled… so when I doubled the recipe I only used half the amount of flour needed. You can imagine the buttery pancakes I had :(
Oh no, I had no idea those measurements were not converting! Darn, I’m so sorry about your cookies. I will talk with the tech support for our recipe plugin and see if we can get that fixed right away.
Love these! They were so yummy. I accidentally put some baking powder in addition to my baking soda and they didn’t rise very much. They were buttery and delicious. Chewy and a bit crisp. My first time making them and they turned out great. I should have chilled my dough between batches because after the first batch they spread more than I wanted. Not as pretty but still amazing. Thank you for an awesome recipe! I appreciate all your hard work!
These cookies were a huge hit! I followed the recipe exactly and they came out great! Although, I made almost all of them on high quality baking sheets. I made one batch on an older baking sheet and they did not spread and crackle nicely like they did on the good sheets. I learned the quality of baking sheets indeed make a difference!
These cookies are OUTSTANDING! My family has gone absolutely crazy for them! I made them just as you suggested and couldn’t be happier!!
Thank you so much!
These cookies are OUTSTANDING! My family has gone absolutely crazy for them! I made them just as you suggested and couldn’t be happier!!
Thank you so much!
I printed this recipe a year ago but never got around to making it. Made it last night and it IS a winner.
Honestly everything from Ali is spot on delicious. Thank you again for another fabulous keeper.
I rate this recipe a 5 on flavor and a zero on form. They are chewy and delicious but flatten out so thin that they fall apart. I just baked the second batch in as many days because the first batch flattened out to an eighth inch thick. Thought I did something wrong. First time the dough was chilled for 6 hours, second time two days. For the second batch, I popped the chilled rolled balls into the freezer for 10 minutes before baking in the preheated oven, and they still flattened to an eighth inch. Also, the math on this recipe doesn’t compute; it says it makes 42-44 cookies. I halved the recipe and still got 42 cookies. I’ve been making my grandmothers recipe for decades; large soft cookies with icing, and thought I would try something different. Again, the flavor is awesome but I won’t be putting these out for the Christmas party. :( And yes, I used all fresh quality ingredients.
Linda Ross —
I made these cookies and followed recipe according to directions and tips, they were delicious and were just as described. Mine did not go flat or fall apart. They were a new favorite at Christmas. Made them again on Valentines Day.
Ryan —
I think the guy who had too many cookies and were flat may have rolled the balls too small. Try again with a bigger ball and at 350F. Ours turned out great, we flattened some and left some as balls and both ways were yummy. Got about 24 cookies with a half recipe.
Mike Harrison —
I had a similar experience. Wonderfully tasty cookies, but no structure to them. Mine cracked and looked pretty good coming out of the oven, but then collapsed. I used balls about 2cm in diameter – refrigerated as directed (or longer) – how to make them thicker?
Any suggestions or tips anyone?
Katie —
These cookies taste great. I add more spices cause I like them spicy but they always turn out so puffy. How can i get them to flatten out more?
This is an excellent molasses cookie recipe! Mine turned out perfect!!! I did make them a bit larger so didn’t get as many but they cracked beautifully and were perfectly chewy in the middle. I rolled mine in demura coarse sugar before baking which looked very pretty and added extra crunch. Everyone loved them and begged for the recipe. I’ll be making them often♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️
These are great! I found that if you add a pinch – 1/4 tsp of cardamom it’ll give the cookies an extra spicey edge my family loves! Definitely a holiday treat!
I made these a few times a couple of years ago and my family absolutely loved them. I made them again today and was very disappointed. They came out flat despite chilling for over 2 hours. The flavor is still good but they aren’t the nice fluffy cookies I had made in the past. I did read that the original recipe was changed. Why? They were already great. I will try again with the original temp and measurements. Fingers crossed.
Hey! So I made these for like the 5th time last night and they came out thick and bread like. Do you know what could of caused that? Going to remake tonight. Thank you!! I LOVE THESE!!
Tried this recipe for the first time tonight. Cookies were delicious and rose nicely. I was in a hurry so I only chilled the dough for about 30 minutes. Rolled them in Demerara sugar. Gave the cookies a nice crunchy texture against the soft cookie.
Tom M. —
Wonderful flavor cripsness and chew! As others noted the cookies came out quite thin. I refrigerated the dough and weighed each ball of dough so the cookies all cook the same. A 25 gram dough ball is just over 1″ diameter and produced a 3″ cookie.
I have to tell you – my mother always made these and even after I moved from home, I would receive a box of these at Christmas. When I came home, there were always her molasses cookies waiting. These taste exactly like hers and yes they are very tasty and chewy. Thanks so much!! I finally decided that maybe I could try making them and was hoping they would be as good and they certainly are!!
I loved these! Thin, chewy, flavorful, everything a molasses cookie should be in my opinion. I got about 10 DOZEN cookies out of a single batch of the dough balls are 1” in diameter! I was going to double the recipe when I saw that it said 46ish cookies. I’m glad I didn’t double!
I have searched high and low for the perfect molasses cookie. Seriously… Every time my mom and I travel, if we see molasses cookies in a bakery, at a farm stand, etc… we will buy them to try. This is coast to coast, from the US to Canada to England… There was a cookie we found at a farmstand on Prince Edward Island that became the gold standard… crispy and chewy, with the perfect amount of spice and sweetness, and a random bakery in Wisconsin that we found. However, this recipe fit the bill and are now my go to holiday…well, actually all year, round cookie.
Two things… I follow the old recipe, but use the brown sugar/ white sugar split. Second, the dough MUST be chilled. Otherwise, the cookies WILL flatten out. This I learned from experience. Otherwise, enjoy. As an aside, they freeze beautifully as well.
Katie —
Hi Laura! I was wondering about the old recipe as well when I made these again the other day. Could you potentially share that with me? I’ve used this recipe quite a bit, but definitely noticed a difference in the cookies’ texture the last two years or so. Thanks in advance!
Jessica —
Hi Laura,
Do you have the old recipe? I’ve been making these for years and definitely have noticed a difference in them the past few years.
Thanks!
Jessica
THIS IS THE WINNER!! I made these a few weeks ago, and then went to re-make them and couldn’t find the recipe. I baked what I thought was the same recipe butIT WAS NO WHERE NEAR AS PERFECT AS THIS. Then a third batch, still no where near this one. I’m SO glad I came across this again. I am in the middle of making my 4th batch of gingerbread for the holidays and now have this recipe saved for my future gingerbread cravings! Thank you!
QUESTION on freezing. I just made some and they are literally PERFECT! I have about 1/2 of the dough left. Curious if you’ve had luck rolling and sharing the dough balls and freezing that way vs. freezing the cookies already baked?
Made slight adjustments to the spices, otherwise the only difference I had was using marg instead of butter for my first batch. I truely underestimated how much there was with the full batch as listed. It ended up making 68 cookies. None of which were anywhere near cooked at the 10 minute mark. I tried a second batch, this time halving it. Still got 35 cookies. I’m not sure how well the cooking times were, I ended up needing to bake them for 15 minutes. At the 11 minute mark the first cookie I tried to remove broke in two.
All in all, a great cookie, however can be underbaked quite easily, or turned into a hockey puck. Definitely worth a bit of experimentation with the cooking times.
Soo good! Halved the sugar and added fresh ginger. Yum! Glad I found the recipe. Mine cracked, but didn’t spread like in your picture. How do I get them to spread? They were in a ball, cracked and just turned into thick Disc like shapes instead Of the flat spread out shape above. I let it sit in the fridge uncovered for about 2.5 hours. Any ideas? Thanks!
Great recipe Ali! I bake and cook a ton and this is the only recipe that I’ve made that I don’t want to tweak. I followed the new updated recipe but I used the old cooking temperature of 375. Baked for 10 minutes exactly and they come out perfect every time!
Sure enough, mine flattened out too! Well, the first batch I guess I put the dough balls too closely together, so they all ran into each other and when I separated them, they’re not circular but rather like five sided shapes. The second round I obviously spaced them much better and they came out PERFECT. I recommend giving more space than you think you need for each dough ball- they did not spread too wide, they came out perfectly shaped into crystallized circles, the tops crinkled just right. Now I know for next time- and I think I’ll double up on the spices as well. Thanks for a great recipe!
Ginger molasses cookies are my husband’s favorite and I’ve never made him any for fear of screwing them up. I made these for our anniversary yesterday and they are amazing! I chopped up a little candied ginger and threw it in there for extra zing, so good. So easy. I even let the dough sit in the fridge overnight and they turned out great.
I made these for Christmas and EVERYONE loved them, they were the first dessert to go. I decreased both of the sugars by 25% as I find most cookies too sweet for my tastes and doubled the spices, including adding 1 tsp of cardamon. The cooking time was a tad too short for my oven – had to go to 12 minutes and they were still perfectly chewy in the center with crisp outsides, perhaps this increase in time was necessary from decreasing the sugar.
These cookies are delicious! I made them for a get together and they were a hit. The recipe made so many that I took a bunch to my volunteer gig and shared them there as well. Every single comment I got was overwhelmingly positive! One person said they were her favorite cookie from this holiday season. The only thing I didn’t like was that they spread out and were very thin. No one else seemed worried about it. I will definitely be making them again!
I’ve been making these every Christmas for the last few years now and they’re always a hit with my whole family! They’re absolutely delicious, but over time I’ve adjusted the recipe slightly to make them a little spicier and more presentable. These tend to spread a lot no matter how long I chill them so I’ve started adding extra flour a tablespoon at a time until I get a better consistency (about 2 tablespoons extra seems to be the magic number). I also add an extra teaspoon of baking soda and make sure to chill the dough several hours. This gives me more uniform cookies that rise perfectly and maintain their shape. I also like to add an extra teaspoon or two of cinnamon and about half a teaspoon extra of ground cloves. I also mix in a little cinnamon with the sugar I roll the dough balls in. PS the recipe makes a TON of cookies but if your family is like mine they’ll disappear quickly!
Easy, yummy and a crowd pleaser!! Saving this recipe.
Made these with gluten free flour. Came out very flat. Lovely flavor though….Next time I will use less soda and add some baking powder.
SO GOOD!! I am celiac, so used one-to-one GF flour and they turned out perfectly. I doubled the amount of ginger (because I love a spicy cookie) and boy are they good. I also am a college student, so don’t have a hand mixer (lol) so I mixed using a fork and eventually my hands, and they still turned out perfectly. I will definitely be making these again!
My mother is also celiac and has been making these with GF flour and giving them as gifts! I have tried them both ways and there is very little difference.
Made these and they came out PERFECTLY! Never thought I could make a good looking/tasting cookie. Thanks!
Perfection! They have the crinkly tops and look just like the photo! They are perfectly flavored, plenty spicy but not overwhelming. The texture is just like you described- chewy and not at ALL cakey. Yes! My half batch made 26 cookies with my small scoop. Can’t wait to add these to my cookie boxes!
This recipes is flawless!! I followed it exactly as is expect chilling it for 5 hours and added 1/4 tsp of cardamon. They were a BIG hit!
Do you use light or dark brown sugar in your recipe?
Thank you very much for the recipe can you possibly use a gingerbread man cookie cutter with this recipe or is it so chewy that they will fall apart? Thanks again for the recipe!! Can’t wait to try
Best chewy ginger molasses cookie ever!!! Exactly what I have been looking for for years! I made a half batch yesterday because of how many recipes I’ve tried and they’ve been too hard, too sweet, or just not right. I will be making a full batch (or maybe double) tonight because the 1/2 batch is already gone and I only ate one! Thank you thank you thank you!!!!
I’m trying to simplify my baking around Christmas and would love to incorporate these. Do you think I can freeze the dough then remove, slice and bake?
Or, slice, freeze, remove then bake? Help!
I’d like to make these cookies, they look delicious. You have provided the weight in grams for just the flour, do you think you could provide the weight in grams for the butter, sugars and molasses too?
Thanks!
This recipe looks great, but beware when doubling or tripling. It states weighing flour for accuracy. Thing is the weight in grams is not doubled or tripled… so when I doubled the recipe I only used half the amount of flour needed. You can imagine the buttery pancakes I had :(
Oh no, I had no idea those measurements were not converting! Darn, I’m so sorry about your cookies. I will talk with the tech support for our recipe plugin and see if we can get that fixed right away.
Can wait to try! Do you recommend freezing the dough or the cooked cookies for best results? Thx!
I’m wanted to freeze also. Wondering if anyone has tested if freezing the dough verses the cookie is better??
Watching the video, there wasn’t any brown sugar added. Any reason?
In the original recipe she only used white sugar.
Love these! They were so yummy. I accidentally put some baking powder in addition to my baking soda and they didn’t rise very much. They were buttery and delicious. Chewy and a bit crisp. My first time making them and they turned out great. I should have chilled my dough between batches because after the first batch they spread more than I wanted. Not as pretty but still amazing. Thank you for an awesome recipe! I appreciate all your hard work!
These cookies were a huge hit! I followed the recipe exactly and they came out great! Although, I made almost all of them on high quality baking sheets. I made one batch on an older baking sheet and they did not spread and crackle nicely like they did on the good sheets. I learned the quality of baking sheets indeed make a difference!
Just took the last tray out of the oven. This recipe is wonderful, soft, chewy, melt in your mouth delicious.
Made these yesterday and they did NOT disappoint!!! Definitely the chewiest ginger cookies I’ve ever made. 10/10 will make again :)
These cookies are OUTSTANDING! My family has gone absolutely crazy for them! I made them just as you suggested and couldn’t be happier!!
Thank you so much!
These cookies are OUTSTANDING! My family has gone absolutely crazy for them! I made them just as you suggested and couldn’t be happier!!
Thank you so much!
I made these yesterday and they turned out great. Yummy Yummy in the tummy.
I printed this recipe a year ago but never got around to making it. Made it last night and it IS a winner.
Honestly everything from Ali is spot on delicious. Thank you again for another fabulous keeper.
These cookies tasted great, but for some reason mine did not crack. Any guesses as to why?
I rate this recipe a 5 on flavor and a zero on form. They are chewy and delicious but flatten out so thin that they fall apart. I just baked the second batch in as many days because the first batch flattened out to an eighth inch thick. Thought I did something wrong. First time the dough was chilled for 6 hours, second time two days. For the second batch, I popped the chilled rolled balls into the freezer for 10 minutes before baking in the preheated oven, and they still flattened to an eighth inch. Also, the math on this recipe doesn’t compute; it says it makes 42-44 cookies. I halved the recipe and still got 42 cookies. I’ve been making my grandmothers recipe for decades; large soft cookies with icing, and thought I would try something different. Again, the flavor is awesome but I won’t be putting these out for the Christmas party. :( And yes, I used all fresh quality ingredients.
I made these cookies and followed recipe according to directions and tips, they were delicious and were just as described. Mine did not go flat or fall apart. They were a new favorite at Christmas. Made them again on Valentines Day.
I think the guy who had too many cookies and were flat may have rolled the balls too small. Try again with a bigger ball and at 350F. Ours turned out great, we flattened some and left some as balls and both ways were yummy. Got about 24 cookies with a half recipe.
I had a similar experience. Wonderfully tasty cookies, but no structure to them. Mine cracked and looked pretty good coming out of the oven, but then collapsed. I used balls about 2cm in diameter – refrigerated as directed (or longer) – how to make them thicker?
Any suggestions or tips anyone?
These cookies taste great. I add more spices cause I like them spicy but they always turn out so puffy. How can i get them to flatten out more?
Is it really a full teaspoon of salt? Thanks
This is an excellent molasses cookie recipe! Mine turned out perfect!!! I did make them a bit larger so didn’t get as many but they cracked beautifully and were perfectly chewy in the middle. I rolled mine in demura coarse sugar before baking which looked very pretty and added extra crunch. Everyone loved them and begged for the recipe. I’ll be making them often♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️
These are great! I found that if you add a pinch – 1/4 tsp of cardamom it’ll give the cookies an extra spicey edge my family loves! Definitely a holiday treat!
I made these a few times a couple of years ago and my family absolutely loved them. I made them again today and was very disappointed. They came out flat despite chilling for over 2 hours. The flavor is still good but they aren’t the nice fluffy cookies I had made in the past. I did read that the original recipe was changed. Why? They were already great. I will try again with the original temp and measurements. Fingers crossed.
I just made these for a cookie exchange and OMG! Just amazing! Perfect, most balanced cookie I have ever eaten!
Hey! So I made these for like the 5th time last night and they came out thick and bread like. Do you know what could of caused that? Going to remake tonight. Thank you!! I LOVE THESE!!
Tried this recipe for the first time tonight. Cookies were delicious and rose nicely. I was in a hurry so I only chilled the dough for about 30 minutes. Rolled them in Demerara sugar. Gave the cookies a nice crunchy texture against the soft cookie.
Wonderful flavor cripsness and chew! As others noted the cookies came out quite thin. I refrigerated the dough and weighed each ball of dough so the cookies all cook the same. A 25 gram dough ball is just over 1″ diameter and produced a 3″ cookie.
I have to tell you – my mother always made these and even after I moved from home, I would receive a box of these at Christmas. When I came home, there were always her molasses cookies waiting. These taste exactly like hers and yes they are very tasty and chewy. Thanks so much!! I finally decided that maybe I could try making them and was hoping they would be as good and they certainly are!!
I loved these! Thin, chewy, flavorful, everything a molasses cookie should be in my opinion. I got about 10 DOZEN cookies out of a single batch of the dough balls are 1” in diameter! I was going to double the recipe when I saw that it said 46ish cookies. I’m glad I didn’t double!
The cookies looked wonderful but were sickeningly sweet. Next time I will reduce the sugar and increase the spices.
I have searched high and low for the perfect molasses cookie. Seriously… Every time my mom and I travel, if we see molasses cookies in a bakery, at a farm stand, etc… we will buy them to try. This is coast to coast, from the US to Canada to England… There was a cookie we found at a farmstand on Prince Edward Island that became the gold standard… crispy and chewy, with the perfect amount of spice and sweetness, and a random bakery in Wisconsin that we found. However, this recipe fit the bill and are now my go to holiday…well, actually all year, round cookie.
Two things… I follow the old recipe, but use the brown sugar/ white sugar split. Second, the dough MUST be chilled. Otherwise, the cookies WILL flatten out. This I learned from experience. Otherwise, enjoy. As an aside, they freeze beautifully as well.
Hi Laura! I was wondering about the old recipe as well when I made these again the other day. Could you potentially share that with me? I’ve used this recipe quite a bit, but definitely noticed a difference in the cookies’ texture the last two years or so. Thanks in advance!
Hi Laura,
Do you have the old recipe? I’ve been making these for years and definitely have noticed a difference in them the past few years.
Thanks!
Jessica
Made these for a Christmas goodie bags, and everyone went nuts for them! Best cookies
Perfect cracks, perfect amount of chewiness, perfect spice amounts. DELICIOUS.
THIS IS THE WINNER!! I made these a few weeks ago, and then went to re-make them and couldn’t find the recipe. I baked what I thought was the same recipe butIT WAS NO WHERE NEAR AS PERFECT AS THIS. Then a third batch, still no where near this one. I’m SO glad I came across this again. I am in the middle of making my 4th batch of gingerbread for the holidays and now have this recipe saved for my future gingerbread cravings! Thank you!
QUESTION on freezing. I just made some and they are literally PERFECT! I have about 1/2 of the dough left. Curious if you’ve had luck rolling and sharing the dough balls and freezing that way vs. freezing the cookies already baked?
Simply perfect. I’m a ginger molasses cookie snot. I’ve not found one that even tries to rival this one.
Made slight adjustments to the spices, otherwise the only difference I had was using marg instead of butter for my first batch. I truely underestimated how much there was with the full batch as listed. It ended up making 68 cookies. None of which were anywhere near cooked at the 10 minute mark. I tried a second batch, this time halving it. Still got 35 cookies. I’m not sure how well the cooking times were, I ended up needing to bake them for 15 minutes. At the 11 minute mark the first cookie I tried to remove broke in two.
All in all, a great cookie, however can be underbaked quite easily, or turned into a hockey puck. Definitely worth a bit of experimentation with the cooking times.
Soo good! Halved the sugar and added fresh ginger. Yum! Glad I found the recipe. Mine cracked, but didn’t spread like in your picture. How do I get them to spread? They were in a ball, cracked and just turned into thick Disc like shapes instead Of the flat spread out shape above. I let it sit in the fridge uncovered for about 2.5 hours. Any ideas? Thanks!
I’m excited to test this out! Have you ever used fresh ginger instead of the dry.
Great recipe Ali! I bake and cook a ton and this is the only recipe that I’ve made that I don’t want to tweak. I followed the new updated recipe but I used the old cooking temperature of 375. Baked for 10 minutes exactly and they come out perfect every time!
Sure enough, mine flattened out too! Well, the first batch I guess I put the dough balls too closely together, so they all ran into each other and when I separated them, they’re not circular but rather like five sided shapes. The second round I obviously spaced them much better and they came out PERFECT. I recommend giving more space than you think you need for each dough ball- they did not spread too wide, they came out perfectly shaped into crystallized circles, the tops crinkled just right. Now I know for next time- and I think I’ll double up on the spices as well. Thanks for a great recipe!
Ginger molasses cookies are my husband’s favorite and I’ve never made him any for fear of screwing them up. I made these for our anniversary yesterday and they are amazing! I chopped up a little candied ginger and threw it in there for extra zing, so good. So easy. I even let the dough sit in the fridge overnight and they turned out great.
I made these for Christmas and EVERYONE loved them, they were the first dessert to go. I decreased both of the sugars by 25% as I find most cookies too sweet for my tastes and doubled the spices, including adding 1 tsp of cardamon. The cooking time was a tad too short for my oven – had to go to 12 minutes and they were still perfectly chewy in the center with crisp outsides, perhaps this increase in time was necessary from decreasing the sugar.
These cookies are delicious! I made them for a get together and they were a hit. The recipe made so many that I took a bunch to my volunteer gig and shared them there as well. Every single comment I got was overwhelmingly positive! One person said they were her favorite cookie from this holiday season. The only thing I didn’t like was that they spread out and were very thin. No one else seemed worried about it. I will definitely be making them again!
I’ve been making these every Christmas for the last few years now and they’re always a hit with my whole family! They’re absolutely delicious, but over time I’ve adjusted the recipe slightly to make them a little spicier and more presentable. These tend to spread a lot no matter how long I chill them so I’ve started adding extra flour a tablespoon at a time until I get a better consistency (about 2 tablespoons extra seems to be the magic number). I also add an extra teaspoon of baking soda and make sure to chill the dough several hours. This gives me more uniform cookies that rise perfectly and maintain their shape. I also like to add an extra teaspoon or two of cinnamon and about half a teaspoon extra of ground cloves. I also mix in a little cinnamon with the sugar I roll the dough balls in. PS the recipe makes a TON of cookies but if your family is like mine they’ll disappear quickly!
There cookies are DELICIOUS! We made it tonight and have already eaten a dozen between the two of us! Thanks for sharing such a tasty recipe.
Thank you for sharing, these look delicious!