Big and chewy molasses spice cookies! Like gingersnap cookies, but thicker and chewier.
Think gingersnap cookies, but bigger and chewy. Now you have molasses spice cookies, so good!
The Incredible Hulk of molasses cookies. Highly spiced with cinnamon, allspice, cloves, vanilla, and of course ginger, and sweetened with sugar and rich molasses, these are the best crinkle cookies, for holidays or anytime of the year.
This recipe for these cookies is barely adapted from Cook’s Illustrated’s Best Recipe Cookbook, and is one of our favorites!
Here’s a hint on preparation – don’t reduce the amount of sugar, the cookies won’t be chewy if you do (I found this out the hard way and had to make a second batch).
Molasses Spice Cookies Recipe
- Prep time: 20 minutes
- Cook time: 15 minutes
- Yield: Makes 18 large cookies
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons of baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar, plus 1/3 cup for rolling cookies
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup molasses
Method
1 Whisk together flour, baking soda, spices: Preheat oven to 375°F. Vigorously whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, allspice in a bowl and set aside.
2 Prepare butter, sugar, and wet ingredients: Use an electric mixer and beat the butter for 2 minutes. Add the brown sugar, and 1/2 cup granulated sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes with mixer set at medium speed. Add egg, vanilla extract, and molasses. Beat until combined, about 30 seconds. Scrape down sides of bowl with a rubber spatula.
3 Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients: Add dry ingredients and beat at low speed until just combined, about 30 seconds.
4 Make dough balls, roll them in sugar: Place remaining 1/3 cup of granulated sugar in a shallow bowl. Working with 2 Tbsp of dough each time, roll dough into 1 3/4 inch balls. Roll balls in sugar and place on un-greased cookie sheets, spacing them 1 1/2 to 2 inches apart.
5 Bake: Bake at 375°F until the outer edges of the cookies begin to set and centers are soft and puffy, about 11 to 13 minutes. Cool cookies on sheets for 2 to 3 minutes before transferring them to cooling racks .
Do not overcook! The centers of the cookies should be somewhat soft and spongy when you take them out of the oven, otherwise they will end up hard and dry.
Optional Glaze
When cookies have cooled, lay out over a sheet of wax paper. Sift 1 1/4 cups of confectioner’s sugar (powdered sugar) and then whisk with 2 Tbsp of milk until smooth. Dip spoon into glaze and dribble over cookies.
