Description
These Super Soft Molasses Cookies combine warm spices and rich molasses to create a wonderfully chewy and tender treat that’s perfect for holidays or anytime you want a comforting dessert. With a simple blend of ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg, these cookies offer a delicious depth of flavor in every bite, baked to golden perfection with a slightly crisp edge and soft center.
Ingredients
Scale
Dry Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground cloves
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
Wet Ingredients
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup unsulphured molasses
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Finishing
- ¼ cup granulated sugar, for rolling dough balls
Instructions
- Preheat and Prepare Baking Sheets: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and line two baking sheets with parchment paper to ensure the cookies bake evenly and don’t stick.
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt to distribute the spices evenly throughout the flour.
- Cream Butter and Sugar: In a large bowl, beat the softened unsalted butter and packed brown sugar together until the mixture is creamy and smooth, which helps create the cookie’s soft texture.
- Add Wet Ingredients: Incorporate the egg, unsulphured molasses, and vanilla extract into the creamed butter and sugar. Beat the mixture thoroughly until it is well combined and smooth.
- Combine Wet and Dry: Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, mixing just until all ingredients are combined to avoid overworking the dough, which can toughen the cookies.
- Scoop and Roll: Scoop tablespoon-sized portions of dough, roll each into a ball, then coat evenly with granulated sugar to give the cookies a slight crunch and sparkle on top.
- Arrange and Bake: Place the sugar-coated dough balls on the prepared baking sheets about 2 inches apart to allow room for spreading. Bake for 8–10 minutes until the edges are set but the centers look soft.
- Cool: Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely, which helps them set with perfect softness inside.
Notes
- For extra soft cookies, slightly underbake and store them in an airtight container to maintain moisture.
- You can freeze the dough balls and bake directly from frozen, just add 1–2 minutes to the baking time for best results.
- Using unsulphured molasses enhances the flavor without any bitterness.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
