We can't get enough of these chewy molasses cookies! They have crisp edges, fudgy middles, and rich, spiced flavor from ginger and cinnamon.
As I sat down to write this molasses cookies post, I watched some of the first snow of the year drift past the window. What could be more fitting? These chewy molasses cookies are perfect for cold, wintry days. They have crisp edges, soft middles, and a rich, spiced flavor that’ll warm you up in an instant. Pair one with a cup of hot chocolate, and you have an unbeatable holiday treat!
I think you’re going to love this molasses cookie recipe. It’s quick and easy to make (you don’t even have to chill the dough!), and it yields really wonderful cookies. After the first time I made them, I liked them so much that I couldn’t resist nabbing one for breakfast the next morning. Since then, I’ve baked countless batches of these molasses cookies, and Jack and I still can’t get enough. Baking them has become a new Christmas tradition in our house. I hope it will in yours, too!
Molasses Cookie Recipe Ingredients
Something else I love about this molasses cookie recipe? It’s totally vegan! It comes together with these basic ingredients:
- Molasses, of course! I make these cookies with unsulphured blackstrap molasses, which gives them a rich molasses flavor and dark color. My favorite brand is Wholesome Sweeteners.
- Dark brown sugar and white sugar – For sweetness. This combination also contributes to the cookies’ delicious chewy texture.
- Coconut oil – For this recipe, your coconut oil should be soft, but not melted. To achieve the right consistency, I usually pop it in the microwave for around 15 seconds before I start to bake. The exact timing depends on its initial texture, which varies based on the temperature of the kitchen. Room temperature butter will work here too.
- All-purpose flour – For the most precise measurement, use the spoon-and-level method.
- Baking soda – It reacts with the molasses and brown sugar to help the cookies rise.
- Warm spices – You can’t make good chewy molasses cookies without spices! I use ground cinnamon, ground ginger, and ground cardamom for warm, cozy depth of flavor. If you prefer, feel free to swap out the cardamom for 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves!
- Vanilla extract – It deepens the warm, spiced flavor of these molasses cookies.
- Fine sea salt – To make all the flavors pop!
- And natural cane sugar – For rolling! It creates a sweet, crispy crust around the cookies’ chewy middles.
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
How to Make Molasses Cookies
This molasses cookie recipe is super easy to make! Here’s how it goes:
First, make the dough. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the coconut oil or butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the molasses and vanilla, and mix again to combine. Then, whisk together the dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Gradually add them to the molasses mixture, mixing after each addition. Finally, mix in 1 tablespoon water to moisten the dough. If the dough still feels dry, mix in additional water, 1 teaspoon at a time.
Next, shape the cookies. Use a 2-inch cookie scoop to portion the dough, and roll each scoop into a ball. Roll the cookie dough balls in a small bowl of cane sugar. When they’re evenly coated, place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Before you bake, gently press down on the dough balls to flatten them slightly.
Then, bake! Transfer the cookies to a 350°F oven and bake for 10 minutes, until the cookies have spread slightly and cracks form on their surfaces. Allow them to cool for 10 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy!
Chewy Molasses Cookies Tips
- Use natural cane sugar for rolling. I like to use regular granulated sugar in these cookies, but I use natural cane sugar on the outside. It has a slightly coarser texture, which creates a delicious crispy crust around the cookies’ edges.
- Bake one sheet at a time. These ginger molasses cookies spread out as they bake, so depending on the size of your sheet pan, you may need to bake them in two batches. Though working in batches takes longer than putting all the cookies in the oven at once, the extra time is worth it. Because temperatures vary throughout an oven, the cookies will bake most evenly if they’re all on the same oven rack. You don’t want cookies on a lower rack to burn before ones above them are cooked through!
- Leave them on the baking sheet for 10 minutes after they come out of the oven. It’ll be tempting to reach for these chewy molasses cookies as soon as they finish baking, but if you can, hold off for at least 10 minutes. Straight out of the oven, the cookies are puffy and delicate. As they cool, they crisp up around the edges and become chewy and fudgy in the middle. After 10 minutes, go ahead and sample one (or more), and transfer the rest to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Freeze the extras. These ginger cookies keep well in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. For longer storage, freeze them! Store them in an airtight container or bag in the freezer for up to 3 months. To thaw, let them sit at room temperature for about an hour, or zap them in the microwave for around 10 seconds.
More Favorite Cookie Recipes
If you love these soft and chewy molasses cookies, try one of these yummy cookie recipes next:
- Gingerbread Cookies
- Thumbprint Cookies
- Peanut Butter Blossoms
- Easy Sugar Cookies
- Perfect Oatmeal Cookies
- Best Peanut Butter Cookies
- Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Lemon Shortbread Cookies
Chewy Molasses Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted room temperature butter or soft (not melted) coconut oil
- ⅓ cup packed dark brown sugar
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar*, (see note)
- ⅓ cup unsulphured blackstrap molasses*, (see note)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour,
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 tablespoon water, more if necessary
- ⅓ cup cane sugar, for rolling
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or using an electric mixer, cream the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Add the molasses and vanilla and mix again.
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, ginger, cardamom, and salt. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing after each addition. Mix in the 1 tablespoon water.
- Use a 2-inch cookie scoop to scoop the dough and use your hands to roll it into balls. If the dough feels dry, mix in 1/2 tablespoon additional water. Roll the cookie dough balls in the sugar and arrange 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet. Press down slightly on the tops of the balls and bake for 10 minutes, until the cookies are puffed and cracking on top. Remove and let cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
There are no eggs in this recipe????
Nope!
Yum! Made the recipe and these are exactly what I was looking and hoping for 😎
So glad you loved it!
This is soooooo good!! The mixture of spices is just perfect. I was a little worried that it’d been overwhelming but instead, the spices blend so well together to create a rich and complex flavor. And best of all this is a vegan friendly recipe so I can share them with my vegan friends.
I’m so glad you love the cookies!
Can cloves be substitute for cardamom?
Yes, that would be delicious!
Just wondering if you have any adjustments for high altitude. I am at about 6500 above sea level.
Hi Mimi, I’m sorry, I’m not sure since I’ve never lived at a high altitude.
I find it easier to weigh my ingredients. I do have a chart of conversions from cups to ounces but if you could put the weights of your ingredients in the recipe that would be so helpful! I find that most recipes from other countries use weights rather than measures. My kitchen scale makes baking so much easier and faster.
Thank you!!!
Thanks for your feedback, Martha!
Making these tonight for a cookie exchange tomorrow. I will rate after I make them haha. I did have a quick question though… I was maybe wanting to ass icing to the top. Any recommendations for an icing that would be good?
Hi Andrew, We often making a simple icing with 1 cup powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons almond milk. If you want the icing to be a bit thicker, you can add more powdered sugar, and if you want it thinner, you can add a bit more almond milk (or regular milk). A little vanilla extract is a great addition too. Hope this helps!
I was wondering, is there a suggested alternative for a gluten-free option? But without losing the chewy, crunchy yumminess
Hi Lauren, a 1 for 1 gluten-free flour blend, such as Bob’s Red Mill’s, might work, but we haven’t tested this, so I can’t say for sure.
Just tried using 1:1 flour mix, and I’m not a fan. Cookies didn’t crack and they tasted a bit grainy.
These are delicious! What’s the best way to store these to keep them crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside for about 3 days?
Hi Linda, I store them in a glass air-tight container – you could keep the lid loose if you didn’t want them to soften too much.
This cookie freezes well! And thaws very quickly so I would recommend trying with a couple and see if that works for you. I always make this fantastic recipe for Christmas treats for neighbors and freeze so I have ready to go.
These turned our great! I used a mix of coconut oil and olive oil since I didn’t have enough coconut oil. Added 1 egg, 1 tsp ground cloves, 1/2 tsp orange rind. The 1 tbsp water was perfect. They soft, chewy and crispy 😋 mmmm can’t wait to have these with my Chai tea tomorrow morning🥰
I’m so glad you love the recipe!
These are one of our favorites!! Can I ask; is it possible to freeze the dough and still get the same great texture? Or even freeze the baked cookies and maintain the chewiness? Trying to have them ready for Thanksgiving 😊
I’m so glad you love the cookies! We haven’t tried freezing the dough, but the baked cookies freeze perfectly. I’d take them out of the freezer a few hours before you plan to serve them and let them thaw at room temp.
Thank you so very much for the reply!!! Then baking them in advance and freezing is what I’ll do!!! There really isn’t a better cookie, regardless of season 🥰
I added an egg, used 1 cup of whole wheat flour instead of white, and baked them for 12 minutes… came out delicious, crispy on outside and soft in the middle. You really do not taste the coconut oil. I know the egg is not vegan, but I think it helps add structure to the cookies.
I’m glad you enjoyed them!
I made these last week for a visiting vegan family. Never used coconut oil for baking before. The first batch was waaaaay too dry and the cookies were more like chunks rather than the cute flat ones pictured. So I just kept adding water until I felt the dough was more pliable and now they looked cuter.
But wow! The flavor was awesome No one who tried these cookies could resist asking for more. Even my so. not vegan son raved about them.
Easy to make, Taste delicious. And very filling This recipes is a keeper.
I’m so glad everyone loved them! It sounds like you could have scooped too much flour, did you use our spoon and level method?: https://www.loveandlemons.com/how-to-measure-flour/
These are wonderful! Molasses cookies are one of my favorites. My usual recipe calls for cinnamon, ginger, and clove. I really like flavor the cardamom adds to these cookies. Texture is perfect with a crispy edge and soft chewy center. I may try adding some orange zest to a future batch. I will definitely make these again.
I’m so glad you loved them!
The cookie had outstanding flavour. The cardamom was a great addition.
Texture wise it was dry after the addition of 1 1/2 tbsp water. I used coconut oil . Will probably try butter next time.
Hi Min, it sounds like you may have had too much flour – did you use the spoon and level method to scoop it? https://www.loveandlemons.com/how-to-measure-flour/
I did use the spoon and level method.
what could I substitute for coconut oil
Hi Tina, unsalted butter is the other option.
This recipe looks so yummy! Can I substitute vegan butter for the coconut oil?
Hi Kim, I haven’t tried them with vegan butter, in my experience it causes cookies like this to spread too much.
I’ve used Trex vegan baking block and it was fine
Hi! I was wondering if it was possible to use a blender for this recipe, or if you needed to have a mixer. Thank you!
Hi Jackie, a mixer is best for this one. You can use a hand mixer if you don’t have a stand mixer.
These cookies are amazing! I made them with my kids following the recipe exactly, and they came out perfectly. I had regular molasses on hand, but would love to try with blackstrap the next time. Will definitely be adding these to the rotation!
Hi Maya, I’m so glad you both loved them!
Picked up some blackstrap molasses yesterday and whipped up a batch for the new neighbors. Again- perfection! And they looked so pretty in the box :o)
I’m so glad they were a hit!
I used Self-Rising flour. The leavening is already in the flour. My cookies did not expand or crackle. I used dry measures for the dry. Ingredients & leveled the flour. What went wrong?
Hi Joan, the difference of flour can make a difference, I haven’t tried these with self rising flour.
Hi Joan,
You can only substitute self rising flour for all-purpose flour in recipes that call for baking POWDER. That’s because self-rising flour is a lower-protein flour that already has baking powder and salt mixed in. This recipe does not use baking powder- it uses baking soda. You can’t swap out baking powder for baking soda in recipes. Both contain sodium bicarbonate, which help things rise by creating CO2 when activated by an acid. The difference is that baking powder already includes the acid it need to react with (usually cream of tartar), so it just needs a liquid and heat to do its job. This recipe calls for baking soda, which is pure sodium bicarbonate- no acid included- which means it is counting on something acidic in the recipe to react with it (in this case, the molasses). Also, keep in mind that self-rising flour is lower in protein, so it has less gluten. That means it doesn’t bind as well and tends to produce baked goods that spread out more (unless your recipe makes up for this). That’s a longer answer than you probably wanted, but long story short: only use self rising flour if you see baking POWDER in the original recipe 😉