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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.

 

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1,410 comments on “Chewy Ginger Molasses Cookies”

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  1. Dear Ali,
    Thank you so much for this recipe. I had fresh ginger around, so I used 4 teaspoons of ginger juice and it worked very well. We are Orthodox Jews, and these cookies really enhanced our Sabbath.
    Do you have a recipe for pecan sandies?
    Peace and blessing to you and your family.
    Chana






  2. They were delicious :)






  3. These cookies are great!
    Made them at Christmas time and shared with neighbors. Making them again as a thank you gift for the neighbor. They are definitely part of my cookie plan.






  4. These were a hit! So chewy and delicious! The pickest of eaters loved them.






  5. A favorite with my family! Will safe this recipe for the future for sure!






  6. I doubled the spices minus the cinammon, added an additional 1 1/2 T fresh ginger and 2T crystallized. I halved the sugar and used only brown and I upped the molasses to 1 cup. Turned out amazing. Next I will only use 1/2 cup of sugar b/c they were still really sweet and I might take the tip of another baker and add the cayenne for a bit more punch. But DELICIOUS

  7. Simply awesome and so chewy….but should some make it past 2 or 3 days the chewiness is reduced but the cookies are still so good. Sugar overload warning ?

  8. Cookies did not spread what went wrong? They came out still rolled and cakey.

  9. Mine taste and look great, but NOT chewy at all….Why? I was expecting chewy and more of a flat cookie but they are slightly raised. hmmm






  10. Just made these tonight, and one of my daughters said they were the best cookie she’s ever had! I did add a wee extra ginger because we really like ginger. :-) Next time, I’ll try tiny bits of crystallized ginger like in the Trader Joe’s cookies. Thanks for sharing!






  11. This is the best cookie recipe. I’ve made it countless times and it’s a favorite. I’m heavy handed in the spices but follow the recipe except I do roll them in maple sugar, a privilege living in maple country

  12. I have made these countless times, my goto recipe for potluck deserts and holidays! We always have a tin around the house. I’m obsessed. You really do need to chill the dough. I usually do it over night on Friday and bake them Saturday during the day. Fantastic ?






  13. Followed the directions and they were perfect. I added some cut chunks of crystallized ginger and it was an added delight.

    Just wondered if I can freeze the dough?






  14. I’m looking for a recipe that I can sub out for Maguey Sap. . . . would this recipe work for that? Would you recommend subbing for just the molasses? Or for part of the sugars and keep the molasses? I’ve never worked with the sap before. It was a gift.

  15. I’m going to try your recipe but I was wondering if I could use almond flour or coconut flour? How do I measure and will the cookie come out the same way large and chewy?
    Thank you

  16. The cookies did not spread out- they came out as f slightly flat balls ☹️






    • Do you think You might have forgotten the baking soda? Or accidentally confused soda and powder?

    • Maybe too much flour? My baking has been so much more consistent since purchasing a kitchen scale and using it for all my recipes.

    • Mine did too. They didn’t crack either. Waiting for them to cool a little and try them.

    • Mine did the same thing! I made them last year and they came out perfect. They were so incredibly good. This year, they didn’t spread out at all. I thought maybe I made a mistake because I knew they came out great last year so I made a second batch. Same thing happened. Have no idea what went wrong, I followed the recipe completely. I’m so disappointed!

  17. LOVED THESE COOKIES…. FOLLOWED RECIPE BUT ADDED EXTRA GINGER AND AN ADDITION OF ALLSPICE….. THEY WERE FABULOUS!
    THANK YOU…..






  18. I love this recipe. We are pretty heavy spice people so I add half again on the spices. They are awesome.

  19. These are the BEST molasses cookies I’ve ever had! Thank you for the recipe.






  20. Can I use coconut flour and unrefined sugar or maple syrup

  21. These are absolutely delicious! I rolled mine in turbinado sugar, which made them extra good. Thank you for the recipe!






  22. THESE ARE MY FAVOURITE GINGER MOLASSES COOKIES HANDS DOWN. I make these every year in the Fall, simply amazing.






  23. My cookies were very flat

  24. Does anyone know what the correct baking soda amount? Tried contacting the author and nothing :(






  25. I made a ton of these for work a few weeks ago. Literally never done the time of day writing a baking review but these cookies were incredible. Super soft, sweet, bit of a kick, ABSOLUTELY delicious ♥️






  26. I just made these and they are delicious. Thank u for sharing.






  27. Has anyone frozen the dough? I only want to make two batches this go around. Thoughts?

  28. how can I modify this recipe to make it gingerbread cutout cookies

  29. These are the perfect fall cookie! Love them!






  30. Great. Cookies are delicious. I reduced the sugar , the butter and only used 4 cups of flour and decided on 3tsps of baking soda given all the other comments. I made 47 cookies. They did not look as large or as spread out as in the photo.

  31. I made this recipe exactly as written. I love the amount of cookies this makes from the amount listed. I don’t know how other people are getting barely 4 dozen. I made my cookies a bit larger than 1 inch balls and still this made 81 perfect cookies!! Also, the ingredients and directions are perfect. The cookies spread great, cracked as they were supposed to and then cooled on racks, still came out as “cookie thickness” and so chewy with the perfect amount of crispness on the outside. My son wants me to make chocolate chip cookies like this now. I wonder if I just make up the dough and add chocolate chips? Spiciness with chocolate chips, hope it works.






  32. Turned out delicious, thank you! – Alicia @GirlonaHike.com






  33. Loved these cookies (I left out the cloves and used white whole wheat flour); they’re so easy to make. I baked them for 8 minutes and then took a rubber spatula and pushed down on the tops to slightly flatten and crack the tops, then baked for 2 minutes longer. They’re simple and delicious… might add mini chocolate chips next time.






  34. Is the baking temp 350 or 375? Recipe says 350 but your video says 375…. please advise.

  35. Delicious!!!!






  36. Molasses cookies are my favorite cookie. So I have high standards. This recipe blows my standards out of the water. Everyone that I have shared these cookies with has absolutely loved them. Perfectly sweet and salty. Stay chewy for days. Highly recommend.






  37. I was reading the reviews and saw where you had responded about flat cookies and said there was a typo and baking soda should be 2 teaspoons instead of 4. It still hasn’t been corrected. I’m making these cookies tomorrow because of the rave reviews but wanted to bring it to your attention so you can get the typo corrected. They look and sound delicious and can’t wait to start baking tomorrow.

    • Wish I had seen this prior to mixing the batch. Oh well. We’ll see what happens.

    • I use four teaspoons and the recipe is fine, my cookies are not flat in any way shape or form. They puff up beautifully and are cracked on the top.

  38. My wife says these are Better than Starbucks, hands down !
    Turned out exactly as promised.






  39. Hi, thanks for the recipe but you should update the Total Time for this recipe to 2 hrs and 25 minutes since the dough needs to chill. Just sayin’….






    • YES! I saved this recipe to make for a friend tonight and bought all the ingredients earlier today. Just started making them and then got to the part about chilling for 2 hours. Ugh!

  40. Has anyone ever made this recipe into bars as in put all the dough into a cake pan or similar to save time?

  41. These are amazing however a full batch of 1in cookies makes about 130-140 cookies! I just freeze & eat a few at a time.






  42. Is it possible to replace butter with margerine or something for a family member that can’t eat any dairy?
    I love this recipe and have made them the right away before, but now want to see if I can do it without butter…

  43. I would just like to know if you can make the dough a week ahead of time and freeze it

    • I did exactly that and they turned out perfect! Just have the dough already rolled into balls with a sugar coating

  44. Finally, found the Best crispy Ginger cookie recipe! Hard to wait for the chilling dough..but worth it. Perfect. Thank you very much…. husband loves them too.






  45. These are the best molasses cookies! My family loves them. I follow the recipe to the T except I add 1 tablespoon of orange zest and they are delicious! Thanks for sharing your recipe.






  46. Did these come out overly salty for anyone else?? I measured everything to a T, I don’t understand. I did see someone say the baking powder amount may be incorrect? I thought 4 tsp seemed like a lot, but I figured it’s such a large batch. I’m so sad, now I have a huge pile of salty cookies. The texture is absolutely perfect, though.






    • did you use salted or unsalted butter? The recipe calls for unsalted but I only have salted on hand, and so I will omit the additional salt for this recipe. Hope that helps

    • Its 1tsp salt in recipe

    • I made these for my boyfriend and he absolutely love these. When ever I make cookies he request these specifically. This time I doubled up on the spices except the cinnamon to add a bolder flavor. I’m patiently waiting for 2 hrs for our to chill. I have frozen the dough and made it about a month later and it was still good and fresh. These cookies are perfect for the holidays. I will not use any other recipe other than this one. The hardest part is waiting at least 2 hours for the dough to chill. I was wondering if I could just freeze it to speed up the wait time. I guess I will find out the next time I make it. Great recipe!






    • Made these last night and they’re delicious. I added a little grated ginger to the wet ingredients. I think I would have liked a little more molasses flavor, but maybe if I had used dark brown sugar it would have had that. Used unsalted butter and 4 tsp of baking soda. It ended up making around 70 cookies. My oven is kind of crappy, so I added 10 degrees and cooked each batch for 12 minutes, turning the baking sheet halfway through. The first batch looked done, but they were too soft, almost mushy, so that’s why I added the extra minutes. The rest of the batches were perfect.






  47. Old comments say recipe is incorrect; only 2 tsps baking soda, not 4, and bake at 375, not 350. Which is correct?

  48. I was impatient and didn’t chill them and they spread (as the recipe says, lol), but I also froze half the batch already formed into balls and rolled into sugar. I baked those right out of the freezer, and the texture was perfect! Just added another minute or two baking time. This recipe is the one I’ve been looking for!!
    Also added: a finely grated knob of fresh ginger, 1/3 cup minced crystalized ginger.






  49. I made these cookies tonight (the full batch). I did the flour by weight. I doubled the spices, except for the cinnamon, like someone recommended. I saw someone said not to handle them too much so I used a 1” cookie scoop which made handling them less much easier. I baked half (@ 350 for 9 minutes) and then froze the other half in little balls so they are ready to bake! I am excited to test out baking them from frozen to see how they turn out. This is my new favourite gingersnap so recipe! Thank you for sharing.

    • Ah, I wish I saw this comment earlier! I would have loved to double the spice.
      Next time :)
      Thanks for sharing!

  50. I just ran across this recipe and couldn’t resist making them. Absolute perfection! Made exactly as written and they came out exactly as promised. Thank you! My search for the PERFECT molasses cookie is over!