Homemade soft molasses cookies with crackly tops are super chewy and perfectly spiced. They stay seriously soft for days—if they last that long—and are always a holiday favorite.
Molasses cookies have always been my top choice because they bring me right back to my childhood. I grew up helping my mom bake them. After rolling the dough in the sugar and watching them bake through the little oven window, my sweet reward was biting into a warm cookie fresh from the oven. In addition to the nostalgia, the soft texture paired with cozy molasses puts them above any other cookie.
Sorry, chocolate chip cookies, you don’t even compare.
Molasses Cookie Comparison
Since they’re a favorite, I have plenty of gingersnap/molasses cookie recipes on my website and in my cookbooks. Most stem from the same-ish recipe with the exception of the crisp variety. Let’s review what makes each one individually and undeniably delicious:
- Soft White Chocolate Chip Molasses Cookies: Studded with white chocolate chips, these cookies are lusciously soft and mega chewy. You’ll love the combination of cozy spices and white chocolate.
- Ginger Pistachio Cookies: I add salty pistachios to my mom’s classic recipe. These ginger molasses cookies are soft, salty, sweet, and spiced. Find this recipe in Sally’s Cookie Addiction cookbook.
- Crisp Molasses Cookies: Another favorite! These are extra crisp. If you’re looking for a crunchy molasses cookie, this one’s for you—they actually snap when you break them!
- Chocolate Ginger Cookies: These are an elevated twist to our classic molasses cookies. You’ll appreciate the added cocoa flavor and how they are beautifully finished with dark chocolate and crystallized ginger.
- Gingerbread Blossoms: Think of this recipe as a new take on these holiday-favorite spiced soft molasses cookies, with the chocolatey appeal of peanut butter blossoms. They capture so many of the things we love this time of year—warm spice; cozy molasses; a soft, chewy texture; and a melty chocolate kiss in the center.
If I had to choose, I would always reach for my mom’s recipe that lives in Sally’s Baking Addiction cookbook. Nothing compares to mom’s.
What Makes These Molasses Cookies Different?
Another molasses cookie recipe? Yes! These cookies are different from my other varieties and here’s why: they’re soft, crackly, and chewier than all the rest. I used my gingerbread blossoms recipe as a starting point. My goal was to produce a flatter, chewier cookie with the same amount of softness. To accomplish this, I used the same ingredients but slightly altered the ratios:
- Flour: I reduced the flour considerably to yield a flatter cookie.
- Baking Soda: To avoid a super flat and overly greasy cookie, I increased the baking soda. Need that lift!
- Spices: Same amount. This careful blend of ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves is exactly what every molasses cookie needs!
- Butter, Brown Sugar, Egg, + Vanilla: Same amounts. Brown sugar is what helps produce the softest molasses cookie ever. (In fact, it’s the first thing I changed when making my crisp molasses cookies.)
- Molasses: Make sure you’re using unsulphured or dark molasses, but do not use blackstrap because it is too intense for these cookies.
Mission accomplished. These cookies are mega chewy, mega soft, and mega crackly!
Which Molasses Do I Use?
There are varying intensities of molasses on store shelves from lighter molasses to blackstrap molasses. Go for an unsulphured or dark molasses, also sold as “robust” molasses. Blackstrap molasses can be quite intense—I don’t bake with it too often.
I’m not working with any of these companies, but I prefer Grandma’s, Brer Rabbit, or Wholesome brands. Wholesome’s organic molasses is super dark, so it will make your cookies a little darker. Look how dark it makes my spiced gingerbread loaf. As opposed to the same recipe as a cake (gingerbread cake) made with Grandma’s brand. What a difference in color!
How to Make Soft Molasses Cookies
- Whisk the dry ingredients together.
- Combine the wet ingredients together.
- Mix the wet and dry ingredients together.
- Chill cookie dough. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
- Roll cookie dough into balls. Use about 1 Tablespoon of dough per cookie.
- Generously roll each cookie dough ball in granulated sugar. For sparkle, of course!
- Bake. The cookies will puff up as they bake then gently sink back down. This is what creates those familiar crinkles and crackles we love. If your cookies aren’t cracking, gently bang the cookie sheet on the counter 2–3x which will help those warm cookies spread and crack on top. See recipe direction #5.
This is a wonderful make-ahead recipe because the cookies stay seriously soft for days (if they last that long!).
This recipe is part of my annual cookie countdown called Sally’s Cookie Palooza. It’s the biggest, most delicious event of the year! Browse dozens of cookie recipes over on the Sally’s Cookie Palooza page.
Seriously Soft Molasses Cookies
- Prep Time: 1 hour, 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours
- Yield: 30-32 cookies
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These seriously soft molasses cookies are the most tender and chewy gingersnap cookies around!
Ingredients
- 2 and 1/4 cups (281g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup (12 Tbsp; 170g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup (100g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup (80ml) unsulphured or dark molasses (do not use blackstrap; I prefer Grandma’s brand)
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Rolling
- 1/3 cup (67g) granulated or coarse sugar, for rolling
Instructions
- Whisk the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and salt together until combined. Set aside.
- In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and both sugars together on high speed until creamy and combined, about 2 minutes. Add the molasses and beat until combined. Then add the egg and vanilla extract and beat until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
- On low speed, slowly mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until combined. The cookie dough will be slightly sticky. Cover dough tightly with aluminum foil or plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour and up to 2–3 days.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. (Always recommended for cookies.) Set aside.
- Remove cookie dough from the refrigerator. If the cookie dough chilled longer than 2 hours, let it sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. The cookies may not spread in the oven if the dough is that cold. Roll cookie dough, 1 Tablespoon each, into balls. Roll each in granulated sugar and arrange 3 inches apart on the baking sheets. Bake for 11–12 minutes or until edges appear set. If the tops aren’t appearing cracked as pictured, remove the baking sheet from the oven and gently bang it on the counter 2–3x. This will help those warm cookies spread out and crack on top. Return to the oven for 1 additional minute.
- Remove from the oven and allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Cookies will stay fresh covered at room temperature for 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: You can make the cookie dough and chill it in the refrigerator for up to 2–3 days. Baked cookies freeze well for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature, if desired, before serving. Unbaked cookie dough balls (before rolling in sugar) will freeze well for up to 3 months. Let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes, preheat the oven, then roll in granulated sugar. Bake as directed. Read my tips and tricks on how to freeze cookie dough.
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- Be sure to check out my top 5 cookie baking tips AND these are my 10 must-have cookie baking tools.
Reader Comments and Reviews
I’m doing something wrong because my cookies (2nd try) came out flat as a pancake…thought I followed the recipe carefully….help, help, help. I’ve been baking all my life.
Hi Ruth! Could your butter be a bit warmer than room temperature? That could be causing the cookies to spread. This post on how to prevent cookies from spreading should help for troubleshooting. Thank you for giving these cookies a try!
I did a bit of research about “flat cookies”… I have a Kitchen Aid mixer…think I may be over beating the butter/sugar ,I turn. (Used a Mixmaster for years and years,,,they do operate on a much different scale…). Am going to try again and be more mindful of the mixer speed as well as the time element.
Thanks for your reply
I haven’t baked these just yet..dough is chilling …however in your recipe as well as others I found on the internet all use white flour…I had been making different molasses recipes thar called for whole wheat…needless to say I went out and bought more whole wheat flour…would I be able to use whole wheat flour in your recipe ?? P.S. Thank you so much
Hi Diane, for best results, we recommend sticking with all purpose flour here. You could try swapping half of the all purpose flour with whole wheat, but the cookies may taste a bit dry and dense. Let us know if you give it a try.
These are now my favorite cookie! Delicious and easy to make. They turned out perfectly
I love this recipe but it didn’t specify on weather to squish the dough ball a tad before baking. I was conflicted but found out yes you definitely need to press the dough ball down a tad
First time making the Seriously Soft Molasses Cookies. They are as beutiful as they are delicious.
These were perfect! I used Better Batter’s gluten free flour and you can’t tell any difference. Yummy!!
Seriously the best molasses cookie recipe! So simple and easy to make, I have gotten rave reviews even a couple, the best cookie comments…. Thank you for sharing!
These were a hit! I was running out of all purpose flour so used half whole wheat flour (1 cup of each), and it got rave reviews. These cookies were compared to “crack” (in a good way). A new yearly tradition for sure!
I normally don’t leave a review unless I follow a recipe to a “t,” but knowing my love for ginger I went ahead and added the extra right off the bat. These cookies are fantastic, and I have no doubt they would still be fantastic even without my extra added ginger. In addition to the ground ginger (as called for) I also added 1 tablespoon of fresh ginger paste and a heaping 1/3 cup of chopped crystallized ginger. I also rolled the dough balls in turbinado sugar rather than granulated. SO good!
As a baker myself I increased the amount of spices. These were very very good. Make sure to underbake just a bit to get the “chew” and softness. They also freeze beautifully.
Oh my goodness so so good a definite on my list. Covered 1/2 with icing and sprinkles ❤️
I have tons of these cookies that are all stuck together and too soft. Can I make a crust out of them for something? I would hate to have to throw them away. They taste good.
This recipe is a keeper. The cookies are so good and still so soft even after I had stored them in the freezer for almost 1 week before taking them out to serve!! 🙂
delicious, easy recipe!
These cookies really are amazing! I found I needed to cook longer in my electric oven – 15 minutes. I subsuited 3/4 cup of butter for 6 tablespoons each of butter and shortening. This recipe has been added to the Recipe Box.
Perfect recipe! Cookies were soft and delicious! Yum!
LOVE! I added 1/4 tsp of cardamom b/c I love that spice. Otherwise followed recipe exactly. Will definitely be making these again. Great flavor and texture.
So first batch perfect batches 2-5 all flat. I love this recipe but every year this happens. Whyyyyy
Help, I made them and they were hard. I thought I had followed the directions to a T. Any recommendations on what I should do differently next time?
They are delicious, they are just very crispy and I was hoping for soft.
Hi Lia, if the ingredients were accurately measured and they were still too crispy, it sounds like the cookies were simply over baked. A minute or two less in the oven should help for next time!
Followed the recipe exactly and got no crinkles. Banged cookie sheet on the counter as advised, still no crinkles. This is the first time I’ve been let down by a recipe of Sally’s. I’ll go back to my old recipe for ginger molasses cookies.
Followed exact recipe. My cookies did not crack at all at the top. Banged them on the counter as instructed… 🙁 . Any ideas what went wrong? Also, do you cook on bake or convection?
Amazing! My husband said this is the best cookie he’s ever had, and that’s saying something! Sally – I’ve made SO many of your recipes and they are always delicious, fantastic, well tested and there’s never any leftovers. Thank you for all your hard work in developing these recipes, you are wonderful!
Really yummy, but not perfect, although that could be my fault lol. My 6 pet rats named Gracie, Lacie, Macie, Tracie, Daisie and Bobbita really loved them. I love your recipes Sally, keep up the great work!
I followed the recipe to AT and while my cookies raised and went back down they went back down flat with a few crinkles. They’re not thick and chewy at all
Hi Cheryl! You can see from the photos above that these aren’t meant to be super thick cookies. Let us know if you enjoy them!
OMG, these were the best, softest, most delicious cookies ever!!! Definitely a keeper recipe!!!
Can I leave out the glove , I do not look the taste
Hi Lou, yes, you can omit the cloves if desired.
This is my favorite molasses cookie recipe, hands down. It’s on par with my family gingerbread cookie recipe, and that’s saying something. If you’re wondering whether to make this, DO IT! I also added cut up candied ginger pieces to mine, and it’s a big hit.
Love these cookies. Was wondering if you can icing them?
Hi Mary, you certainly could if you’d like! You could use vanilla icing or easy cookie icing, or for a thicker option, they would be fantastic with cream cheese frosting.
These turned out to be absolutely delicious… exceeded my expectations.. I did a few things rogue… spaced on the amount of butter and did a full cup…didn’t make a difference at all… I like black strap molasses b/c it is full of nutritional benefits, so I used 1/2 of the molasses from that…. I added a TBSN honey in place of granulated sugar as I’d run out of bakers sugar… which I think contributed a level of complexity to the flavor profile, as did the blackstrap molasses. I also used turbinado sugar to roll them in…which I highly recommend because there is crunchiness in every single bite.. which is really what sent these over the top. I baked in a convection oven… the texture, loft, crunchiness and flavor were all pure molasses cookie perfection!!
Can I roll these out into shapes?
Hi Dana, this dough isn’t suited for rolling out. Instead, I recommend my gingerbread cookies.
I absolutely love this recipe. Turns out perfectly every single. Soft on the inside and crispy on the outside. The crackle and sparkel make them look festive for a Christmas platter. Followed the recipe to a T except for making them slightly larger. I doubled the recipe and made 54 cookies. Highly recommend making these.
Pregnancy brain over here. Just stuck the dough in the fridge to chill and I realized I put 1 tablespoon extra butter in the recipe. ♀️ how bad did I just mess this up??
Hi Liz, I would take the dough out and add another Tablespoon of flour. An extra hour in the refrigerator to chill would help, too.
Just won the neighborhood Christmas Cookie Throwdown with this recipe! (Grated fresh ginger instead of ground ginger.) Thanks for the trophy-winning recipe!