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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”

1 5 6 7 8 9 22
  1. GREAT VERSATILE RECIPE
    Delicious! I bought some candied ginger and chopped it medium fine and added it to the dough. I like the surprise difference in texture and the extra ginger. I made these once before and chopped the ginger fine and it basically just melted into the cookies so if you want even small ‘chunks’ you have to cut the ginger bigger than you would think. Also, I added an extra 1/3 of all the spices and it was not too much. I also made them extra big and that worked too. Better double this one !






  2. I made these cookies for the first time this weekend and they are one of the best cookies I’ve ever tasted! My husband hasn’t enjoyed food and lost his sweet tooth after chemo and he was thrilled by how much he enjoyed the flavor and texture. Thank you for sharing this recipe!






  3. I made these and bright them to work. One of the guys was almost tearing up because they reminded him of his grandmother. So, so yummy.






  4. I just made these cookies this evening and these are the BEST ginger molasses cookies ever. I have been making a similar cookie for years but this recipe is superior. I forgot to roll them in sugar before baking but they were still delicious!






  5. Any tips on making these in advance? Do they freeze well? The one recipe makes a large amount of cookies and probably won’t need all of these in one round!

    • It’s a pretty easy recipe to halve if you don’t want to make so many. Halving still makes two baking sheets worth. I halved the recipe last night and made one GF batch with fresh ginger and one traditional batch.

    • Months ago I baked half a batch and froze the other half of the dough. Took it out of the freezer today, let come to room temp for about 15 minutes…formed into balls / rolled in sugar and baked for 8 mins. They were perfection!! Couldn’t even tell the dough had been frozen

  6. I followed the recipe exactly as written and they were amazing!






  7. Molly. Just made these for an Easter Dinner desert. Snuck one! Wow! Delicious ?






  8. Just made these cookies for a friend, they’re absolutely delicious! They taste JUST like something grandma would make!






  9. Turned out so good! I’m not much of a baker and don’t have a mixer so I mixed the ingredients with my hands… hey it worked :) Unless you are cooking for a party/event, I suggest halving the recipe – makes so many cookies! Only thing I would do differently next time is add a tad more ginger. They taste great as is, but I’m a ginger lover. Thanks for the great recipe!






  10. Best molasses cookies we’ve ever had!






  11. These are THE BEST molasses cookies, I come back to this recipe again and again and always get raving reviews when I share!






  12. It’s true about the room temperature butter. As I was slicing my butter up toss into the KitchenAid, I noticed some resistance in the center of the block. I had taken it from the fridge an hour prior and figured it was warm enough. Nope-FLAT cookies. I couldn’t believe it. Every other time I’d made there cookies they were perfection. Still delicious, but not the glorious beauties I had made many times before. Heed the room temperature advice!






  13. Great recipe – these cookies’ appearance is quite sensitive to cook time. If I do 9 minutes they look like in the pictures on this website…10 minutes and they are a darker toastier color still delicious – just a note for those who might find their cookies looking toastier.






  14. Made these yesterday and they are absolutely delicious! I’ve never made a ginger cookie, this recipe will be a go to from now on.






  15. I’m VERY picky when it comes to the recipes I use. This cookie recipe has no-flaw and truly makes the best molasses cookie I have ever had! The batch is quite large, so depending on how many cookies I need, I sometimes half it :) Awesome recipe, Ali. Thank you!!






  16. Love the cookies. My only tip is wait to preheat oven because when the dough is done it requires an hour in refer to get hard enough to work into balls. The oven would be wasting energy being on during the chill time.
    I used earth balance instead of butter because we are a no dairy family and it worked great.

  17. Sooo good but next time I will use 1/2 the salt.
    I used coarse sugar and it turned out wonderfully sugary on the outside.

  18. I made these, and have the second batch in the oven! I cut the recipe in half, and though they don’t look exactly like the pictures, they are really good. This is literally the best cookie I have had in a while. Also, let me note this important detail: I thought I didn’t have cinnamon (I found out afterwards that I did), and I also don’t think I have any ginger. So, what I did was substitute pumpkin spice (containing cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice & sulfiting agents–according to the “ingredients” on the back) for both cinnamon and ginger.
    Also, my measurements when making these were not exact, and I didn’t follow the recipe to a “T”, but they turned out well.
    Have a great day, and thank you so much for the recipe, Ali.

  19. Absolutely the best cookie I have ever eaten. DELICIOUS!!!!!






  20. I’m thinking of baking these tomorrow…Can someone tell me, is 4 tsp baking soda correct?

  21. Hands down my favorite and even best looking cookie I have ever made. I typically do not use eggs and keep things as healthy as I can…even with flax meal egg replacer, these cookies were absolutely FLAWLESS! The turbinado sugar makes them even more delicious!






  22. This recipe is perfection! It was my first try at ginger molasses cookies and I couldn’t be more pleased with the result! Mine came out looking just like the photos, which never happens!






  23. These are delicious! I was out of butter and so switched it for coconut oil, and they still turned out amazing! I will definitely be making these again.






  24. Can I freeze these?

  25. I feel compelled to share a slight variation to this recipe that has taken these really wonderful cookies and made them absolutely amazing. Instead of adding salt to the actual dough, I encourage you to add it instead to the sugar you’ll use to roll the dough in. (You might even add more than 1 tsp.)

    This variation was the result of accident when we forgot to add the salt to the dough. Not trusting anything that isn’t salted, we tried this remedy and it took the cookies over the top. Everyone who eats them asks what exactly it is that makes these so wonderful. The original recipe is excellent; this just adds that little something extra.






  26. Oh. My. Goodness. I’m not even a big fan of molasses cookies, but I had all the ingredients and thought I’d give these a try. They are SO good! I rolled mine in tubinado sugar, and they have the most wonderful crispy caramel-ey outside, with a chewy, buttery delicious interior. I cheated a little and used my cookie scoop to form them before chilling, then popped the cookie sheets into the freezer for about ten minutes, then I rolled in the turbinado. These took less than an hour, start to finish, and did I mention they are DELICIOUS?






  27. Okay…. These were the best cookies I have ever eaten! I’m trying my best not to make these weekly, I have zero willpower with them in my kitchen. Everyone raved over these cookies. They had the best texture, so chewy and lovely! I loved the bold spices in these; they screamed “It’s the Holiday’s” to me! Everyone, do your loved ones and friends a favor and bake a batch of these beautiful babies. You’ll see some very happy faces! This recipe is worth every moment you put into pulling these together. On a side note, I only had whole cloves and ended up quickly grinding them fresh for this recipe. I will never buy ground clove again… grinding whole is the way to go!
    Ali, thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe.

  28. Would these make a crinkle cookie if they were rolled in powdered sugar?

  29. I’m so excited to make these! Chewy ginger cookies are soooo good.
    My dream is to make those THICK, chewy, delicious cookies you find in good bakeries. How on earth do they make them almost an inch thick, yet still properly baked?! haha… Do you have any tips to help me achieve this? :) Thank you!

  30. I am going to make these tonight. I am on my second chemo treatment and have read that ginger helps with nausea – plus, these look delicious!!

  31. I would love to make this dough a few days before I need to bake them. Will this store in the fridge a few days?

  32. These are seriously THE BEST cookies ever!!

  33. can you 1/2 this recipe ? Thanks!

  34. Replace half the butter with vegetable shortening a.k.a. Crisco for a thicker chewier cookie. Works for all drop cookies.

  35. I’ve made your chewy ginger molasses cookies in the past and loved them. I just tried finding the recipe to share for a cookie exchange, but I had a hard time. Thank you for the note describing the changes from your last rendition because the ingredients and directions were slightly modified. I’ll be trying the changes soon and look forward to trying them on my family. Glad to see the printed version of the new recipe has your website noted!






  36. These are to DIE FOR! I have made these twice, in the last 3 weeks! They are that good and just plain irresistible! I bake mine on 325 for 11 minutes – that’s just me though.

    Five stars! Delicious!






  37. OBSESSED with this recipe!!!! We make it every year!






  38. This was the first time I’ve ever made Ginger Molasses cookies, and I’m so glad I found this recipe. The cookies are so soft and chewy, as long as you take them out of the oven as soon as they start to crackle on top! I followed the recommendation made in another review to wait to add the salt (but I only added 1/2 teaspoon) until the end with the sugar that you roll the cookies in, and they turned out excellent!

    Other alterations: I added a small pinch of coarse sea salt to the top of each cookie after they came out of the oven, and I also added butterscotch chips for an added punch of flavor. These are my new go to Christmas cookie for sure!

  39. I teach chemistry and I make these cookies every year for my students on “Mole Day” (I refer to them as “Mole-“asses cookies). They are always a huge hit! They’re so easy, the yield is huge, and they are hands-down my favorite cookie.






  40. Ally I need help!! I live in Italy and cannot find molasses ANYWHERE in the supermarkets here. Is there a substitute I could use?
    Thanks!

    • Darn, it can be hard to find in Europe! It’s called “miel de caña” or “melaza de caña” in Spanish, if that’s any help. Usually the import stores here will carry it, or healthy/organic groceries. Unfortunately there’s no good substitute for this recipe. Best of luck!

    • Try looking for Treacle. I believe it’s the same thing.

  41. This probably a VERY amateur baker question (ha!), but I wanted to be sure – salted or unsalted butter? I’m never sure which unless a recipe explicitly states it, but that’s probably just my inexperience. Thank you!

  42. I just want to say, I’ve always hated molasses cookies. I just made thsee and they are really good! The molasses is not strong at all and they are truly super soft. Love them. These are a keeper!






  43. To freeze 1/2 of the dough would you recommend going ahead scooping them out then freezing or can you just roll it up in parchment paper and freeze that way?

  44. Have you ever made these with only 3 tsp. of soda? My inner scientist wants to know. ?

  45. Just made these and had no issues with spreading. They are utterly delightful and sooo chewy. Good thing I halved the recipe because they made a lot. ? I can’t wait to try these again with candied ginger.






  46. Ali, these are AMAZINGLY delicious!! I added cut up candied ginger and got raves and requests for the recipe. So I am sending everyone to #gimmesomeoven






  47. I LOVE these and the past couple years my BF has been begging me to make more. He noticed the consistency was slightly different this year. I thought he was just being picky but then I noticed you updated the amount of flour for 2018! Can you share the original amount of flour? Was anything else changed?






  48. EXCELLENT. EXCELLENT. EXCELLENT. Best chewy ginger molasses recipe. Will be making another batch for Christmas!






  49. Sweet baby molasses, THESE ARE NOW MY FAVORITE HOLIDAY COOKIE! The chewiness stays around long after cooling, which is the BEST PART! Thank you, THANK YOU for this recipe! And it makes A TON, will split the recipe next time and freeze half.