Gingerbread is a classic holiday flavor. Those warm spices, rich molasses, and deep brown sugar scream Christmastime! These soft molasses cookies are the epitome of wintertime - and we've amped them up a bit by dipping them in white chocolate. This recipe produces a soft, chewy cookie that will leave you coming back for seconds.
What Is A Soft Molasses Cookie?
A molasses cookie, or sometimes called a gingersnap, is a cookie flavored with molasses and spices. Molasses has a delicious brown-sugar flavor without being too sweet. Molasses attracts moisture (like honey), so baked goods made with molasses stay moist and chewy a lot longer than those made with sugar
What Do I Need To Make Soft Molasses Cookies?
For this recipe you'll need:
- butter
- dark brown sugar
- molasses
- eggs
- flour
- baking soda
- salt
- cinnamon
- clove
- ginger (dry or fresh)
- nutmeg
Pro Tip: When it comes to ginger, you can use the dried and ground that is found in the spice aisle. Or you can use fresh ginger for a bigger flavor. I cheat and use fresh ginger from a tube. It can usually be found in the produce section near the fresh herbs.
Tell Me How To Make Them!
The Cookies
- In a large mixing bowl, add softened butter.
- Add in brown sugar. Using a hand or stand mixer, cream the sugar and butter together.
- Pour in molasses.
- Add eggs. Mix until well combined.
- In a medium bowl add flour.
- Add baking soda and salt.
- Toss in your spices. Whisk to combined.
- Add dry mixture to your wet mixture in your large mixing bowl. Mix until combined.
- Roll into 1 inch balls.
- Toll balls in granulated sugar.
- Place on a greased baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 8 minutes.
- Transfer to a wire rack, and cool completely.
Pro Tip: To make your cookies flatter and more "crinkly" gently press them with the bottom of a glass immediately after they come out of the oven. This spreads the cookie out a bit.
The Frosting
- You'll need white chocolate chips, shortening, and almond extract.
- In a microwave safe bowl, combine all ingredients. Microwave in 30 second increments, stirring in between each increment, until melted.
- Dip cooke cookies halfway into mixture. Cool on parchment paper.
- You can sprinkle with cinnamon, candied ginger, or colored sugar.
What Kind Of Molasses Should I Use?
Molasses is a by-product of the sugar manufacturing process. Molasses is an excellent source of iron, calcium, and vitamin B and serves as a great energy food. There are several kinds of molasses:
- Fancy Molasses – also known as Gold Star, when used in baking, the results are a light colored, sweet product, also good as a topping on bread, biscuits, and crackers.
- Lite Molasses – contains 40% less sugar than our Fancy Molasses. Recipes made with Light Molasses have a subtle flavor and are lighter in color. Cookies are slightly softer while breads are more crusty. Light molasses comes from the first boiling of the sugar.
- Cooking Molasses – is a blend of Fancy and Blackstrap Molasses. The use of Cooking Molasses results in a darker, less sweet baked product.
- Unsulphured Molasses – has the best flavor, is made from sun-ripened cane which has grown 12-15 months.
- Blackstrap Molasses – is the final by-product of the sugar making process, it is dark and has a slightly bitter, robust flavor. The thick dark brown liquid obtained from the refining of sugar cane is commonly referred to as “Blackstrap Molasses.” Some of it’s more common uses is in the production of industrial alcohol and feeding livestock.
For this recipe I used unsulphured molasses. I like the flavor it gives the cookies and it is readily available in the baking aisle.
Can You Freeze Molasses Cookies?
Yes! Soft molasses cookies freeze well for up to 3 months. You can thaw them and bring to room temperature before serving. Unbaked cookie dough balls (before rolling in sugar) will freeze well for up to 3 months.
I Love Holiday Baking! What Other Cookie Recipes Do You Have?
For a complete list, visit our cookie page.
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Super Soft Molasses Cookies
Gingerbread is a classic holiday flavor. Those warm spices, rich molasses, and deep brown sugar scream Christmastime! These soft molasses cookies are the epitome of wintertime - and we've amped them up a bit by dipping them in white chocolate. This recipe produces a soft, chewy cookie that will leave you coming back for seconds.
Print
Rate
Servings: 24 cookies
Calories: 253kcal
Ingredients
Cookies
- ¾ cup butter
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 egg
- ¼ cup unsulphered molasses
- 2 ¼ cups flour
- 2 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger or 1 tablespoon fresh
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon cloves
- granulated sugar to roll dough in
frosting
- 16 ounces white chocolate chips
- ⅛ cup shortening
- ½ teaspoon almond extract optional
- cinnamon, colored sugar, or candied ginger to sprinkle on white chocolate coating
Instructions
Cookies
- In a large mixing bowl, add softened butter.
- Add in brown sugar. Using a hand or stand mixer, cream the sugar and butter together.
- Pour in molasses.
- Add eggs. Mix until well combined.
- In a medium bowl add flour.
- Add baking soda and salt.
- Toss in your spices. Whisk to combined.
- Add dry mixture to your wet mixture in your large mixing bowl. Mix until combined.
- Roll into 1 inch balls.
- Toll balls in granulated sugar.
- Place on a greased baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 8 minutes.
- Transfer to a wire rack, and cool completely
Frosting
- In a microwave safe bowl, combine all ingredients.
- Microwave in 30 second increments, stirring in between each increment, until melted.
- Dip cooke cookies halfway into mixture. Cool on parchment paper. You can sprinkle with cinnamon, candied ginger, or colored sugar.
Notes
Pro Tip #1: When it comes to ginger, you can use the dried and ground that is found in the spice aisle. Or you can use fresh ginger for a bigger flavor. I cheat and use fresh ginger from a tube. It can usually be found in the produce section near the fresh herbs.
Pro Tip #2: To make your cookies flatter and more "crinkly" gently press them with the bottom of a glass immediately after they come out of the oven. This spreads the cookie out a bit.
Nutrition
Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 253kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 26mg | Sodium: 190mg | Potassium: 134mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 23g | Vitamin A: 193IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 58mg | Iron: 1mg
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Jane. gaston Holt says
Looking forward to trying this terrific receipe. Glad to find molasses ginger cookies . Think candied ginger pieces finely cut added to receipe Will enhance it . Wil try that . Find at Trader Joe’s . Thank you 🙏
CJ says
I forgot to mention... it was a soft, bready man...
CJ says
Hi, I like YOUR article. I have a childhood memory of someone making a cookie sheet sized gingerbread man Decorated with all kinds of candies. I have never found a recipe or instructions to make it. Can you help?
Kaela says
Approximately how many cookies does this make of each? I need three dozen of each type of cookie ... do I double the recipe? triple it? etc?
thanks!
Stephanie says
Honestly I'm not quite sure how many this recipe makes, I apologize for not writing it down! If I remember correctly, my guess is that it makes about 1 to 1 1/2 dozen of each, so I think you'd be safe doubling it. I used a medium-sized cookie cutter, so you could always buy a small cookie cutter and make them small to ensure you had enough. Same with the gingersnaps, make them a little small if you end up having not enough dough. Each cookie is decadent enough with the white chocolate-dipping and the decorating that smaller will be plenty. I planned on making these again this year, so as soon as I get to that, I'll try to post how many I got. Good luck! That's a lot of cookies :)
Stephanie says
OK one of the other gals made these the other day, and said that she probably got 3.5 dozen cookies and about 2 dozen men. Sounds like you may have some leftovers!