These seriously soft molasses cookies are the most tender and chewy gingersnap cookies around!
Recipe by Sally on December 6, 2017
Prep time: PT1H45M
Cook time: PT12M
Total time: PT2H
Rating
4.5 stars ( reviews)
Keywords
soft molasses cookies, molasses cookies
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
1/3 cup (67g) granulated or coarse sugar, for rolling
Categories
Cookies
Cuisine
American
Steps
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.
Reviews
Poppy on 2025-07-28 (4 stars): I normally have great success with SBA recipes but this one didn’t turn out as hoped. The flavor was great but the texture and form were off. Not chewy, a little cakey. Maybe too much baking soda? I varied the times a bit on each bake and tried the recommendation to give the pan a whack on the counter part way through but they were still off. I’ll move on to another recipe BUT we still gobbled them up in record time :)
Ginka on 2025-09-01 (5 stars): So fragrant and delicious!
Rachel on 2025-10-01 (5 stars): I was looking for a recipe that would be similar to a cookie I buy at a local bakery, and these really hit the spot. They are super delicious and soft and so easy to make. I've made them multiple times since I first found the recipe a few months ago, and I plan to keep on making them! Highly recommend!
Melissa Marowelli on 2025-10-03 (5 stars): Made these yesterday for the first time & they were so good.
Today I leveled them up with minced crystalized ginger & Turbino sugar for the coating and they are absolutely to die for. FINALLY, a soft ginger/molasses cookie that's JUST RIGHT.
Mabel Tuggle on 2025-10-09 (5 stars): These were fabulous! This is my new go to recipe for the holidays!! Thank you for sharing!
Hillary G on 2025-10-12 (5 stars): I wanted a chewy cookie with the warmth of gingerbread and this recipe did not disappoint! This recipe will be well used and loved for years to come.
Mary Beth on 2025-10-13 (5 stars): The taste of the cookies are delicious!
My cookies did not get the signature crack in the top like the photo.
Katelynn on 2025-10-19 (5 stars): These were so freaking good!
Mine puffed up and got crinkles. I did run out of ground ginger and had to swap for 8tsp of fresh and they still turned out really tasty.
100% will make these again
Fran on 2025-10-22 (5 stars): Delicious as your recipes always are. I did use the blackstrap molasses and reduced it just slightly. They still turned out really moist even with the slight reduction in liquid. The flavor of the blackstrap molasses is a bit over powering, will make again but with a different molasses.
Thank you Sally !
Kat on 2025-11-02 (2 stars): Just made the recioe, the cookies came out nicely, and are soft and looking great. The only issue I have is the sugar - they are so terribly sweet that they don't taste much like anything but excesive sugar. Half or even a third of the original amount would be much better, will try that next time.
Natasha on 2025-11-07 (4 stars): The cookies are delicious! The only problems I ran into were that they spread out pretty thin and didn't crackle at all.
I had my dough in the fridge overnight so I set it on the counter for 40ish minutes because after 30 it still seemed too stiff. Could that have been why the spread out so much?
