These soft molasses crinkle cookies are full of flavor from ginger, cinnamon, ground cloves, and nutmeg. The dough doesn't need to be chilled so they're ready in just 30 minutes!
These Molasses Cookies are Everything I Want When It's Cold Outside
When Fall hits, something in the air makes me crave a warm batch of these crinkle molasses cookies. The blend of warm, ground spices keep them testing fresh & comforting for days. But honestly, I've made these in the middle of the summer and they're just as delicious! They're crispy on the outside, thanks to a roll in granulated sugar just before hitting the oven. And molasses, brown sugar, and butter keep them decadently chewy on the inside.
My Favorite Molasses to Bake Cookies With
Ah, molasses. That pungent glass jar seems to just sit at the back of the cupboard until December (aka holiday cookie season). But December shouldn't hog molasses all to itself! I love baking with dark molasses for a rich flavor & dark brown color. I've also used light molasses for lighter, milder cookies. Just avoid blackstrap molasses which is great in savory dishes like baked beans, but turns molasses cookies bitter.
Let's Bake Molasses Crinkle Cookies!
Whisk the dry ingredients together.
Beat the butter & sugars together.
Add the molasses and vanilla extract.
Combine the wet and dry ingredients.
Shape the dough into balls and roll in sugar. Bake & enjoy!!
Chewy Molasses Crinkle Cookies
developed & tested by:
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar, divided
- ⅓ cup unsulphured, dark molasses
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ground ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and salt. Set aside.
- In a separate mixing bowl, use an electric hand mixer to beat the softened butter, brown sugar, and ¼ cup of the granulated sugar until it is creamy and fluffy, after 2 to 5 minutes.
- Add the molasses and vanilla to the butter and sugar. Mix for 1 to 2 minutes, until it is smooth and creamy.
- Add the dry ingredients into the bowl of wet ingredients. Mix by hand with a spoon just until you don't see any dry flour, after about 1 minute. (The dough will be pretty dry at first. Just keep mixing gently until the dough is evenly combined.)
- Roll the cookie dough into 12 even balls, each about 1 to 1.5 inches in diameter.
- Place the remaining ¼ cup granulated sugar in a small bowl. Roll each ball of cookie dough in the sugar to coat it. Place the coated cookie dough balls evenly space out on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until the cookies have begun to crack on top. Allow the cookies to cool for at least 10 minutes. They'll be really soft right out of the oven, but they'll firm up as they cool.
Notes
- Molasses: Use unsulphured molasses to avoid a weird chemical taste from sulphured molasses. Both light and dark molasses work great in this recipe, but avoid blackstrap molasses, since that makes these cookies taste bitter.
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Storing: Store cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature, or in the freezer (these cookies actually freeze really well both as pre-shaped dough balls and baked!
Maria says
I added an egg and they were perfect!
Carissa Erzen says
Hi Maria! YUM! I'm so glad to hear that!
Eliza says
these chewy molasses cookies are the BEST! I've made them so many times now and they are always a winner!
ordinaryfabgirl says
This is such an original idea! I don't really like curries so this probably isn't for me but my family love curries so I'm definitely going to bake them tomorrow for my family. Love this post.😊
strawberryandcream says
Nice!! Let me know how they turn out for you!! â¤ï¸
Jim says
They look so delicious 😋 I usually put curry in my Japanese curry but cookies sound yummy!
strawberryandcream says
Thank you!! If you have extra curry powder, sprinkle some into your cookies! Or maybe even scones, that might be nice! 🥰