Learn how to make the best molasses sugar cookies with this easy recipe that makes thick chewy molasses cookies with a crunchy turbinado sugar coating.
I have been searching for the perfect molasses cookie for a long time. I was looking for a cookie that was chewy and not too soft. Most importantly, I wanted it to have that crackled finish. I think this is pretty darn close to what I had in mind.
Molasses cookies are quite different than ginger cookies. They get most of their sweetness and depth of flavour from molasses, instead of granulated or brown sugar. Molasses cookies, in the most classic sense, are not flavoured with warm spices, like ginger or cinnamon, though some recipes do feature it.
Molasses cookies tend to have a cracked or crinkled appearance on the surface of the cookies, so they may be called molasses crinkles or molasses crackle cookies.
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What Molasses Cookies Are Made Of
If you want to make thick and chewy molasses sugar cookies, you will need the following ingredients:
- butter, preferably unsalted butter because you will add salt to the dough, but if you have salted it, it will work. Just adjust the salt in the recipe accordingly, otherwise, your cookies may be too salty
- light brown sugar, which adds to the molasses flavour and also helps make a slightly thicker cookie that has a chewy texture
- molasses, specifically Fancy molasses or baking molasses. Do not use blackstrap molasses, which may be too bitter for this recipe
- large eggs—don't use smaller eggs because your cookie dough may be too dry, leading to cookies that don't spread at all in the oven, and don't use extra large eggs which might make the dough too wet and loose causing the cookies to puff and spread too much
- all-purpose flour is needed to bind all the ingredients together and give the cookies structure, contributing to the chewiness of the cookies as well. If you don't use enough flour, your cookies may spread too much as they bake
- baking soda is a base (alkaline) and contributes to that signature cracked finish that we expect of the best ginger cookies. You need baking soda for the cookies to spread properly and to crack. Do not use baking powder. Read up on baking soda vs baking powder if you are unsure
- salt is really important to balance out the sweet molasses flavour. Please don't skip it. I like to use Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt, but table salt will work, though the cookies will be saltier and you may want to halve the salt in that case.
Please see the recipe card for the exact ingredients and quantities.
Note that we are not baking with ground ginger or cinnamon, or adding any warm spices to the dough. This cookie is all about the flavour of molasses and by eliminating the typical spices that we use in gingerbread cookie cut-outs and crystallized ginger cookies, we are giving the chance for the molasses to shine through.
Substitutions and Variations
- Molasses—use fancy molasses (which you can find on Amazon), which is sometimes called baking molasses or original molasses in the US (available on Amazon) or black treacle, which I used in these soft gingerbread cookies. You can also order black treacle on Amazon. Both are by-products from the sugar refinement process in the transformation of sugar cane). Mild molasses also works.
- Brown sugar—I used light brown sugar, but dark brown sugar also works
- Sugar coating—I love to roll the scoops of cookie dough in turbinado sugar, a coarse crunchy non-melting sugar, but you can also roll the cookie dough in granulated sugar or even icing sugar or both (like for chocolate crinkle cookies and lemon ricotta cookies)
Note: Do not use blackstrap molasses. Blackstrap molasses is very dark and has a more bitter taste, whereas Fancy molasses has a milder taste that is more suited for regular homemade cookies and Christmas cookies.
How To Make Molasses Sugar Cookies
Remember to scrape down the sides of the bowl of your stand mixer after each step to ensure all the ingredients are properly mixed. Otherwise, you will end up with textural defects in your cookies that may show up on the surface of them (like crystallized or shiny patches).
Step 1—Combine the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (image 1) and mix them until creamy and smooth before adding the molasses (image 2) followed by the egg (image 3).
Step 2—Whisk the dry ingredients in a separate bowl (image 4) and then add them to the mixer (image 5). Stir until you form a thick, sticky dough (image 6). I like to transfer the dough to a smaller bowl or container to chill until firm (image 7)
Step 3—Scoop the dough using a medium cookie scoop (image 8) and then roll each scoop in turbinado sugar to coat it all around (image 9). I like to do all the scooping at once and then all the rolling in sugar at once so that my scoops are ready to bake (image 10).
Step 4—Stagger the cookies on a baking sheet, six per half-sheet pan (image 11) and bake until set and cracked (image 12).
Baking Tips For Thick Chewy Molasses Cookies
To achieve the perfect thick and chewy molasses cookie with a cracked surface:
- chill the cookie dough properly so that the edges will set before the baking soda reacts, which will lead to cracking when the leavening kicks in. Insufficient chilling may lead to thinner cookies
- use the correct type and amount of chemical leavener: in this recipe, we use baking soda, not baking powder, and we use a lot of it to achieve the right flavour, browning, and cracked finish
- roll the cookies in turbinado sugar, which adds a coarse crunch to the outside of the cookie and a little sparkle.
You could also opt to roll in granulated sugar, like for the classic ginger cookies, or icing sugar. You need to make sure to really coat the scoops of cookie dough thickly with sugar to achieve an even crackle finish.
If you want a thicker powdery white crinkle on the outside, you can roll the balls of dough into granulated sugar first before coating them in icing sugar (powdered sugar). The granulated sugar will help absorb the moisture on the surface of the cookies, drying them out and helping the cookies crack in the oven when they are baked. Really coat the cookies generously in a lot of powdered sugar so that they are well covered in a thick layer of icing sugar.
Molasses Cookie Baking FAQ
If your molasses cookies spread in the oven, the cookie dough (and/or your kitchen) may have been too warm. Warm butter is very soft and will melt quickly when the cookie dough hits the oven. This means the cookies spread and your molasses cookies will be flat. Try chilling the cookie dough before baking to minimize spread.
If this doesn't work, you may want to add more flour. Even just 30 grams (¼ cup) can have a huge impact on how the cookies bake) so that you have thick molasses cookies. Read all about why cookies spread flat and what you can do to fix it!
Replacing butter with shortening is another trick to bake thicker cookies because the melting point of shortening is higher. On the other hand, if you replace shortening with butter, you may find that your cookies bake thinner. Again, chilling the cookie dough will help but also a little extra flour could do the trick if you want thicker cookies. And if you are replacing butter with shortening and the cookies are too thick, next time, try reducing the flour by 30 grams (¼ cup) and see if that helps.
Other Baking Recipes With Molasses
If you love the taste of molasses, here are a few other recipes to try:
- ginger cookies with white chocolate
- moist gingerbread cake topped with white chocolate cream cheese frosting and lemon curd
- gingerbread muffins with cranberries
If you tried this recipe for the best molasses sugar cookies (or any other recipe on my website), please leave a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you!
📖 Recipe
Molasses Sugar Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
- 115 grams unsalted butter softened
- 100 grams light brown sugar
- 225 grams Fancy molasses
- 1 large egg(s)
- 345 grams bleached all-purpose flour
- 5 mL baking soda
- 1.25 mL Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt
- 150 grams turbinado sugar
Instructions
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and the brown sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in the molasses, then beat in the egg, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add half this dry mixture to the mixer bowl and stir it in on low, then mix in the rest.
- The dough is soft so cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill it in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350 ºF (175 °C). Line a baking sheet with parchment.
- Roll 40 grams of dough into round balls, then roll them in the turbinado to coat them on all sides. Place the cookies on the prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart. Bake the cookies for about 11 minutes or so, the edges will be firm. Let cool 5 minutes on the pan before transferring to a cooling rack.
Notes
- Variations:
- Molasses—use fancy molasses (which you can find on Amazon), which is sometimes called baking molasses or original molasses in the US (available on Amazon) or black treacle, which I used in these soft gingerbread cookies. You can also order black treacle on Amazon. Both are by-products from the sugar refinement process in the transformation of sugar cane). Mild molasses also works.
- Brown sugar—I used light brown sugar, but dark brown sugar also works
- Sugar coating—I love to roll the scoops of cookie dough in turbinado sugar, a coarse crunchy non-melting sugar, but you can also roll the cookie dough in granulated sugar or even icing sugar or both (like for chocolate crinkle cookies and lemon ricotta cookies)
- Salt—I bake with Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt. If using table salt, add half the amount or the cookies may be too salty.
- Please note that I bake with uncoated aluminum sheet pans that are light in colour. If you are baking this recipe with darker bakeware, you may have to drop the oven temperature to 325 °F (165 °C) to prevent your baked goods from browning too quickly.
Alice says
Very easy, very tasty!
We all love them. Thanks for the recipe!!
MaryBeth Jewell says
These cookies are the best Molasses cookies I've ever made...or eaten! They are simply divine! I've been giving most of them out as Christmas gifts, while keeping some for my husband & I to enjoy. Many thanks for a wonderful recipe!