CookiesAmericanEasy

Pantry Molasses Spice Cookies

Name: Pantry Molasses Spice Cookies
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 12 min
Total time: 27 min
Yield: 24 servings
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: ¾ cup (170 g) unsalted butter, softened, at room temperature; ¾ cup (165 g) packed light brown sugar; ½ cup (120 ml) unsulphured molasses, at room temperature; 1 large egg, at room temperature; 1 tsp (5 ml) vanilla extract; 2 cups (240 g) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled; 1½ tsp (7½ g) baking soda; 1½ tsp (3 g) ground ginger; 1¼ tsp (2½ g) ground cinnamon; ¼ tsp (½ g) ground cloves; ½ tsp (3 g) fine sea salt; ¼ cup (50 g) coarse sugar for rolling

From the MyKitchenBank Kitchen

Chewy-centered molasses cookies with a subtle crackle, spiced with warm cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. These cookies use pantry staples and come together quickly, making them perfect for weeknight baking or holiday gatherings. The cookies stay soft and moist for days.

Prep: 15 min
Cook: 12 min
Wait: 18 min
Total: 45 min
Makes: 24 cookies

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Steps

Before you start

Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C)
Bring butter and molasses to room temperature (about 1 hour)
Line baking sheets with parchment paper

1
Cream butter and sugar
- In a large mixing bowl, beat softened butter and brown sugar together on medium speed for 2–3 minutes until pale and fluffy, scraping down the sides once.
- This step incorporates air and creates the right texture for chewy cookies.
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Ready when: Mixture is light in color and fluffy
Tip: Soft butter creams faster; if yours is too cold, let it sit at room temperature for 1 hour before starting.
2
Mix in molasses and egg
- Add the room-temperature molasses and egg one at a time, beating on medium speed for 30 seconds after each addition.
- Scrape the bowl between additions.
- Add vanilla extract and mix until combined.
- The mixture should look slightly curdled at this point, which is normal.
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Ready when: Molasses and egg are fully incorporated
Tip: Room-temperature molasses and egg blend more smoothly and create better texture than cold ones.
3
Combine dry ingredients
- In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and salt.
- Make sure there are no lumps of baking soda.
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Ready when: Spices are evenly distributed throughout
Tip: Whisking aerates the flour and ensures even distribution of spices and leavening.
4
Add dry to wet
- Add the flour mixture to the butter-molasses mixture and mix on low speed just until combined, about 30 seconds.
- Do not overmix.
- The dough will be soft and slightly sticky.
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Ready when: No dry flour streaks remain
Tip: Overmixing develops gluten and makes cookies tough. Mix only until just combined.
5
Chill dough
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes.
- Chilled dough spreads less and creates cookies with better shape and chewier centers.
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Tip: You can chill the dough for up to 2 hours; it will become firmer and easier to roll.
6
Preheat and prepareOven 350°F / 175°C
- While dough chills, preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).
- Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Pour coarse sugar into a shallow bowl.
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Ready when: Oven reaches temperature and sheets are lined
Tip: Parchment paper prevents sticking and ensures even baking on the bottom of cookies.
7
Shape and roll cookies
- Scoop dough using a 1-tablespoon cookie scoop (about the size of a walnut).
- Roll each ball between your palms into a smooth sphere.
- Roll each sphere in coarse sugar, coating all sides, then place on prepared baking sheet about 2 inches apart.
- You should have 24 cookies total.
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Ready when: All dough is shaped and sugar-coated
Tip: Wet palms slightly with water so the dough doesn't stick as you roll. The coarse sugar creates a beautiful crackled surface as cookies bake.
8
Bake cookiesOven 350°F / 175°C
- Bake on the middle rack of the oven at 350°F (175°C) for 11–13 minutes.
- Cookies are done when the edges are set and slightly firm but the centers still jiggle very slightly when the pan is shaken gently.
- The tops should look crackled and lightly colored.
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Ready when: Edges are firm, centers slightly underdone, tops are crackled
Tip: Overbaking makes cookies hard. They firm up as they cool, so remove them while the centers still look slightly soft.
9
Cool on pans
- Let cookies cool on the baking sheet for 3 minutes.
- They will firm up slightly and the residual heat will continue cooking the centers gently.
- Then transfer to a wire rack (or plate) and cool completely, about 2–3 minutes, before serving.
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Ready when: Cookies are cool enough to handle and no longer warm to the touch
Tip: If cookies harden too quickly on the pan, return them to the oven for 30 seconds to soften, then transfer to the cooling rack.

Good to know

Tips

For the chewiest cookies, slightly underbake them—remove from the oven when centers still look soft. They firm up dramatically as they cool.
If your molasses is thick and hard to pour, warm the jar in a bowl of hot water for 2 minutes to make it more workable.
These cookies spread minimally if chilled dough is used, making them ideal for decorating or serving on a platter.
Coarse sugar creates the classic molasses-cookie crackle, but if you don't have it, a 1:1 mix of granulated sugar and sanding sugar works well.

Make ahead

Dough can be refrigerated for up to 2 days or frozen for up to 3 months. Baked cookies keep for up to 5 days in an airtight container at room temperature.

Storage & reheating

Room temperature: store in an airtight container for up to 5 days (cookies stay moist and chewy). Refrigerator: up to 1 week in an airtight container. Freezer: unfrozen baked cookies in an airtight container for up to 3 months; thaw at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving. To reheat, warm in a 300°F (150°C) oven for 2–3 minutes to restore chewiness.

Substitutions

unsulphured molasses → dark honey or blackstrap molasses. Use the same amount. Blackstrap molasses will make cookies darker and slightly more bitter; honey will make them less spiced-tasting.
packed light brown sugar → 0.75 cup (150 g) granulated sugar plus 1 tablespoon (15 ml) molasses. This replicates the moisture of brown sugar if you only have white sugar on hand.
ground ginger → 1/2 tsp fresh ginger, finely grated, plus 1 tsp ground ginger. Fresh ginger adds a brighter, spicier note but reduces shelf life slightly. Reduce baking soda to 1.25 tsp if using fresh ginger to avoid a metallic taste.
coarse sugar for rolling → granulated sugar or cinnamon-sugar mix. Regular granulated sugar works fine but won't create the same crackled appearance. A cinnamon-sugar mix (1/4 cup sugar plus 1/2 tsp cinnamon) adds extra spice.