Old fashioned Super Soft Molasses Cookies are a homemade classic treat packed with bold flavors of molasses, ginger, and cinnamon in each bite. They're seriously soft and chewy on the inside with a crackly top outside that's been rolled in sugar. They're a fall and holiday favorite recipe that's the perfect addition to any cookie swap!
Recipe updated with new images on October 14, 2020. Recipe was originally published on October 18, 2018.
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Reasons You Will Love These Super Soft Molasses Cookies
- seriously soft and chewy
- a holiday favorite
- perfectly flavored with molasses, ginger, and cinnamon
- lightly rolled in granulated sugar to give them a nice sweet crunch
- they stay soft for days
- perfect for cookie swaps
This soft molasses cookies recipe couldn't be any easier to make and they taste fantastic! They are a definite must-make heading into the holiday season!
Where Does Molasses Come From?
Molasses is commonly used as a sweetener in baking, cooking, coffee or oatmeal, and comes from either sugar cane or sugar beets where it's boiled down to a syrup. After removing the sugar crystals, what's left is the dark molasses!
There are a variety of molasses flavors like light/mild, full/dark, and blackstrap. The light/mild flavor is the lightest and sweetest of the three, followed by the full/dark which is thicker and has a stronger flavor (great for recipes like this!). Blackstrap is the thickest of the three and has no sweetness to it. You'll typically see blackstrap molasses used in savory dishes.
How to Make Soft and Chewy Molasses Sugar Cookies
Here is a brief overview of how to make this soft molasses cookie recipe!
- Whisk the dry ingredients together. This includes the all-purpose flour, ground cloves, ground ginger, cinnamon, and salt.
- Mix the wet ingredients together. Start with the vegetable oil and granulated sugar. Next you will add in the full-flavored molasses and egg.
- Combine the dry and wet ingredients. Unless specified in the recipe, always add the dry ingredients to the wet. Mix the cookie dough together until just combined. The cookie dough will be a thin to medium consistency.
- Chill the dough. A minimum of 2 hours is best or until you're able to form the cookie dough balls. Make sure the mixing bowl is covered with plastic wrap.
- Roll and Coat. Roll the molasses cookie dough into 1 inch balls, then roll in a small bowl of granulated sugar. You only need about ½ cup to coat all 36 cookies this recipe yields.
- Bake then Cool. Bake for 8-10 minutes at 375ºF. Mine seem to bake perfectly right at the 8 minute mark. Your cookies should have a nice sparkling crinkle top with golden brown edges. Cookies should cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet before you transfer them to the wire cooling rack.
What is a Good Substitute for Ground Cloves?
Ground cloves is not something I always have on hand when baking. So if you find yourself in the same situation, you can use nutmeg.
Can I Freeze Molasses Cookie Dough?
Yes! Follow the recipe instructions up until you have chilled the molasses cookie dough. Roll the cookie dough into the 1 inch balls, but skip rolling them in the granulated sugar.
Place them onto a parchment paper or wax paper lined baking sheet and freeze until firm.
Remove from the freezer and place the frozen cookie dough balls into a well sealed freezer bag. Molasses cookie dough balls will keep for up to 3 months in the freezer.
When ready to bake, add 1-2 minutes to your bake time.
Quick Tips for Baking Molasses Cookies
- Measuring sticky molasses. One thing that can be tricky from time-to-time is measuring sticky ingredients, so I suggest lightly spraying the inside of a measuring cup with some baking spray. This will help let the molasses slide out a lot easier when you're pouring it into the mixer.
- Don't skip chilling the dough. I recommend a minimum of 2 hours or at least until you can easily form the dough into 1 inch balls. If they haven't properly chilled things can get pretty messy.
- Use a cookie scoop. For more consistently sized cookies use a 1 tablespoon size cookie scoop. A regular spoon will work fine too.
Looking for More Holiday Cookie Recipes?
Super Soft Molasses Cookies
Author:Ingredients
- 2 cups All-Purpose Flour
- ½ teaspoon Ground Cloves
- ½ teaspoon Ground Ginger
- 2 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ¾ cup Vegetable Oil
- 1 cup Granulated Sugar (plus extra for rolling cookie dough balls in)
- ¼ cup Full Flavor Molasses (I used the Brer Rabbit brand)
- 1 Large Egg (room temperature)
Instructions
- Whisk together the all-purpose flour, ground cloves, ground ginger, baking soda, ground cinnamon, and salt. Set to the side.2 cups All-Purpose Flour, ½ teaspoon Ground Cloves, ½ teaspoon Ground Ginger, 2 teaspoon Baking Soda, 1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon, ½ teaspoon Salt
- Using your hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the vegetable oil and granulated sugar together on medium-high speed until well blended. Add in the full flavored molasses and egg.¾ cup Vegetable Oil, 1 cup Granulated Sugar, ¼ cup Full Flavor Molasses, 1 Large Egg
- Switching the mixer speed to low, gradually add in the whisked dry ingredients until just combined.
- Cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate the molasses cookie dough for a minimum of 2 hours (or until it's easy to shape).
- Once the cookie dough has chilled, adjust the oven rack to the 2nd level position (just above center) and preheat the oven to 375ºF. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.
- Using a spoon or a 1 tablespoon size cookie scoop, form 1 inch size cookie dough balls. Roll each one in a small bowl of granulated sugar and place on the lined baking sheet roughly 2 inches apart.
- Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes at 375ºF. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely. The cookies will be puffy at first, but will flatten as they cool.
- Molasses cookies can be kept stored in an airtight container for up to a week at room temperature. They'll stay soft too!
Recipe Notes
Joan says
Do you use liquid vegetable oil or solid such as crisco?
Jennifer says
Hi! I used vegetable oil for this recipe.
Jannika says
These cookies are absolutely divine! You might need to play with the baking time a little, as I had different results for 8, 9, and 10 minute batches but all tasted incredible! 9 mins was the sweet spot for my oven to put out beautiful crinkly tops and even chewy goodness.
Jana says
Can you use butter instead of veg oil?
Jennifer says
I've never made them using butter, but I suppose you could!
Katie says
Did you try using anything other than the vegetable oil. Looking to make these today and do not have any!
Jennifer says
I did not, sorry!
Sandi says
Can you substitute brown sugar for the white sugar? Or maybe use half and half?
Jennifer says
Hi Sandi! I'm so sorry I'm just seeing your comment now! I've never tried these with using light brown sugar so I can't say for certain. I would be more inclined to say that the half and half would be something to try first.
Ashley says
I love these cookies I made them twice now this week I put some on cookie plates for family and neighbor gifts and everyone said these are the perfect soft molasses cookies with a perfect amount of spice to it not too much clove just right! I have more in the oven as I type!! My dad can’t wait!
Sallianne Howell says
the recipe calls for a 1/4 cup of molasses. If I added a 1/2 cup would it mess up the recipe on how the cookie comes out
Jennifer says
Unless you doubled the entire recipe, yes it would more than likely mess it up.
Lindsay says
You said to put the pan on the second level In the oven. Did you mean second from the top or second from the bottom? Lol. Mine has a lot of levels..
Jennifer says
Second from the top or the level just above center 🙂
Lori Scriver says
I have celiac disease so I used cup 4 cup gluten free flour. My 5 yr old granddaughter was helping my and she acci4spilled the vegetable oil all over the floor. We ended up substituting unsalted butter. The cookies were soft and chewy and amazing!
Jennifer says
Thank you for taking the time to make them and for sharing your substitutes as well! I'm glad they were a big hit!
Claus says
Made these for my Christmas box that I give to friends. It was the recipe most asked for.
Adam Wenzel says
These cookies are amazing. Ginger molasses have always been my favourite, and of the 10 plus recipes I've tried for these types of cookies this is my favourite. Will come back again and again. I was skeptical because initially because of the vegetable oil in lieu of butter but it really does work and taste exactly like they should. I love the spiciness from the clove but it's not overwhelming. The chewy texture with crispy edge is exactly what a cookie should be. Pro tip make double and freeze half for when you have a craving but don't have the time. You can simply pop the log out of the freezer and bake.
Jennifer says
Thank you so much for this review and the freezing tip, Adam!❤️
Jennifer T says
These have become a family favorite!! Recipe is perfect as is!
Jennifer says
Yay! That's wonderful to hear, Jennifer! Thank you for making them!
Meegan says
Great recipe! So tasty and easy to make.
I added some chopped up glacé ginger to the dough mixture which added some extra ginger flavour.
Sue says
These taste good, but we’re crispy and nowhere near soft. I must have baked too long.
Jennifer says
Hi Sue, it does sound like you baked them a little too long because they should be pretty soft. You could also try baking them on the next rack down to see if that helps. I'm glad they still tasted good though!
April Casillas says
I just made these and they turned out fantastic! Ive made a recipe similar to this using butter but I always forget to leave the butter out to come to temp so i love that this recipe uses vegetable oil, makes it easy to be prepared to bake on a whim 👍🏼
Tami says
My son in the Navy requested soft molasses cookies and I reviewed a bunch of different ones. I made them with a couple of changes. I used 1/2 cup oil and 1/4 unsalted butter. I also used 1/2 granulated sugar and 1/2 cup light brown sugar. I rolled them in raw sugar for extra crunch on the outside. They were amazing! Thank you!
Jennifer says
Thank you so much for making them!
Leni says
Hello! I have a couple quick questions: How long can these stay in the fridge before baking? I know it says at least 2 hours or overnight, but can I mix them up in advance (like 1-2 days) and leave them in the fridge until I’m ready to bake? If not, what would you say is the max they’ll be good in the fridge before baking? Also, what is the shelf life after they’re baked? Thank you!
Jennifer says
Hi! If you plan to make them a few days in advance, I recommend freezing the cookie dough instead. In the blog post, I have a section that gives instructions on how to do this. This way, when you're ready, all you would have to do is bake them! And for shelf life, the molasses cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to a week at room temperature. They'll stay soft as well, which is nice. Happy baking!