Chewy Ginger Molasses Cookies
This Chewy Ginger Molasses Cookies recipe is easy to make, with no need to chill the dough. The cookies are perfectly soft and chewy, with just the right amount of spices and molasses – the ultimate fall and holiday cookie!
I don’t recall ever really liking ginger cookies when I was growing up. And I believe the biggest reason why is that whenever I was offered one, it was always a very hard cookie. A dunking sort of cookie. It’s why they call those cookies gingersnaps, because they “snap” when you break them in half.
And hard cookies just aren’t my thing. Unless we’re talking about buttery shortbread cookies. In that case, I can definitely make an exception.
But in general, I like my cookies soft and chewy.
So when I was introduced to a super soft and chewy ginger cookie during my 30’s, my world was turned upside down. I questioned why it had taken so long for me to know this was actually a thing.
It’s taken me a number of years to get this recipe the way I want it. But I’m happy to say that this is now my favorite recipe for Chewy Ginger Molasses Cookies. Our whole family is quite smitten with these, and I’m confident you’ll like them too!
Chewy Ginger Molasses Cookies
There’s no hiding it. I’m pretty excited to finally put closure on my ginger cookies recipe pursuit. For many years, come fall and the holiday season, I’ve played around with this recipe.
Now…to get a chocolate chip cookie recipe perfected in the same way. An easy-to-make recipe that passes all of our family’s criteria for soft, chewy, buttery, and chocolatey. We’ll get there, I promise!
How to make ginger molasses cookies
One of the reasons I’m so thrilled about this recipe is that there’s no need to chill the dough.
Can I get an Amen?!
I get why certain recipes call for this step. I really do. But my goal for this recipe was for it to be easy and fairly quick. So I knew I wanted to eliminate any need for refrigerator chilling time.
Besides molasses and a few warm spices, all that’s required to make these soft ginger cookies are the typical cookie making ingredients.
Also: If you don’t own at least a couple different sizes of scoops, I highly recommend these handy kitchen tools. I use them all the time. Not only are they great for portioning cookie dough, but I also like to use them to fill muffin and cupcake papers, and to size meatballs. I used this scoop for these cookies, which holds about 1-1/2 tablespoons of dough.
Since perfecting this molasses cookies recipe, I’ve made several batches. Just to be absolutely sure they baked up the same way each and every time. I heard no complaints from any member of this household, just so you know.
I am 100% confident that if you have been looking for soft and chewy ginger molasses cookies, and that if you follow this recipe exactly, you’ll be 100% happy.
Soft, chewy molasses cookies with the beautiful zing of ginger. Aren’t they so pretty, with those fun cracks zig-zagging across their tops?
EVERYONE deserves to know the happiness created from a batch of these cookies!
When it comes to the holidays and sweet treats, our family has quite a number of favorite recipes. Be sure to also check out these:
- Peppermint Bark, our girls LOVE this stuff!
- Chocolate Caramels, my Grandma Klein’s recipe, these are an annual tradition.
- Caramel Heavenlies, an easy recipe that’s both crispy-crunchy and ooey-gooey!
- Chocolate Mint Brownies, one of my mom’s favorite recipes EVER.
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Chewy Ginger Molasses Cookies
These cookies are perfectly soft and chewy, with just the right amount of spices and molasses. And they're easy to make, with no need to chill the dough!
Ingredients
- 2-1/4 c. all-purpose unbleached flour
- 2 tsp. baking soda
- 2 tsp. ground ginger
- 1-1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. cloves
- 1/4 tsp. allspice
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 3/4 c. unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 c. light brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 c. mild molasses
- sugar, for rolling dough balls in
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375° F.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter and sugar until incorporated. Then beat on medium-high for 3 minutes, scraping down the bowl halfway through, until mixture is somewhat light and fluffy.
- Add egg and molasses, and beat on medium-low until incorporated.
- Add combined dry ingredients and beat on medium speed until incorporated.
- With your hands, roll dough into balls that are 1-1/4" to 1-1/2" in size. I like to use a medium scoop to evenly portion the dough. Then roll dough balls in a small bowl of sugar. Place sugared dough balls on baking sheet about 2" apart. Bake for 8 minutes. Cracks should start forming on the tops of the cookies during the final minute or so of baking, and will continue to form as the cookies cool outside the oven. For the softest, chewiest cookies, take care to not over bake. Remove pan from oven and let cookies sit on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a cooling rack.
Notes
from a farmgirl's dabbles
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 30 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 162Total Fat: 7gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 18mgSodium: 159mgCarbohydrates: 23gFiber: 1gSugar: 6gProtein: 2g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated by Nutritionix. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee accuracy. If your health depends on nutrition information, please calculate again with your own favorite calculator.
This post was previously published in 2010. Since then, the recipe has been improved and revised. The recipe, photographs, and text were updated in 2018.
I love these cookies! Currently making them for our postponed family Christmas dinner. Currently out of butter, do you think margarine would work?
Do these freeze well?
Yes!! :)
This is my second year baking these cookies! I loved them last year, but I think I did something wrong this time around. I did use a medium (1.5 tbs) cookie scooper, but it only gave me 16 cookies, when the recipe calls for around 30. That’s fine, especially if you like a bigger cookie, but then I should have cooked it a bit longer than the 8 minutes. My recommendation would be check how many cookies your dough is giving you, and then adjust cooking time accordingly. I got nervous when I saw cracks forming on the sides of my cookies and took them out, but next time I would wait to see some cracks on top!
Made em but ended up with only 12 cookies (so you can imagine how huge they ended up LOL) and I’m currently tossing them in for another 4 mins as they’re so thick they didn’t quite cook through at 8 mins. but tasted one and they’re almost there, and the flavour is great. thanks a lot
Hi! I am excited to make these, a friend of mine did and is RAVING about them! Just one question: Do you use or recommend (or NOT recommend, as the case may be!) parchment paper or anything like that, or just straight onto the baking sheet? Also, do you recommend a flat cookie sheet, or will this work in a half-sheet pan with low rims?
Thanks!
Hi Lisa! I do not use any liners, put the dough directly on the baking sheet. I’ve always used cookie sheets, so I can’t speak to that. Rimmed sheet pans also have widely varying thicknesses and quality.
I made these cookies last night and I loved them! Buttery and soft. I didn’t have ground cloves on hand, so I sprinkled in a little nutmeg instead and it came out fine. Would definitely make again.
Yay! Love to hear this, Ashley!
I will be making these and adding some cinnamon red hots to the dough. Hope it works out, and if it does, I’ll be dubbing these the Un-Gingerbread Men cookies.
This is a fabulous recipe! Crinkly, cracked, sparkly, festive and absolute delicious with a crisp exterior and a chewy middle – perfection. I made slight modifications – I used just 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, 3/4 tsp. allspice because I didn’t have cloves, and increased the ginger to a tablespoon because I like them spicy – and they are! All the flavors come through beautifully. These are the holidays in cookie form. Thank you and Merry Christmas!
I would gladly eat these cookies with more ginger – LOVE that spiciness! Thanks Lisa – Merry Christmas!
Made these to recipe and all melted together. I call then gingerbread tack. Way greasy.
Hello Bill – please try this recipe again, double-check your ingredients and quantities. My daughter and I just made these cookies last week + I get LOTS of feedback from readers, family, and friends, how much they love this recipe. I KNOW it works!
These are perfect, just how I remember my grandma’s molasses cookies from when I was a kid. Thank you for this recipe!
I love to hear this, Katie. :)
Yum!
I did change the flour to Pillsbury Best Gluten-free All purpose flour blend and they turned out awesome!
My husband was well pleased with these, and he does Love cookies!
Thank you for sharing your recipe.
Thank you for sharing that, Vicki. So glad you liked the cookies!
Delicious cookies. I make them all the time now. Perfect amount of spices. Wonderful with a cup of tea.
So happy to know you like these cookies!!!!
Hi, If I wanted to add fresh ginger, or use a combination of fresh and powdered ginger in the recipe, what quantity would you recommend?
Great Cookies!!
Nice and Chewy just like it says!
The cookie scoop makes the perfect size
Cookies,so I had to go out and purchase
One, money well spent! The only thing I
Would adjust in the recipe is I would add
More ginger, as I like more bite in the
Cookie, otherwise they are awesome!!
This was my first time making molasses cookies and they did not disappoint!!! They were DELICIOUS and will be a cookie I will make every Christmas from now on! Thanks for the perfect, no chill dough recipe!!!
WONDERFUL!!! So glad you like the cookies!
Thank you! I couldn’t find my grandma’s recipe so this looked as close as I could recall. They are so yummy and my dad says they taste just like his mom’s.
My husband made these last week as a trial run for a Christmas party tonight. He followed the recipe *mostly* except he didn’t beat the sugar and butter and we are GF asp he used Namaste’s perfect flour blend and he’s a ginger fanatic so he added fresh ginger as well. They turned out delicious but all melted together in the oven. This time I did the same, except I beat the sugar and butter and chilled them overnight before cooking. Then I started preheating the oven to 350 without looking at the recipe while taking care of my babies and forgot to turn it up lol. Cooked for eight minutes and they were perfect! I think refrigerating with the GF flour is key to a crackled top.
Perfect mix of spices and Molasses. Keeping this one!
First time making these cookies and they definitely melts in your mouth..will make more next time.