Molasses Cookies are soft, chewy cookies that will send you right back to your childhood. The molasses is the PERFECT amount, not too overpowering.
Molasses Cookies
These Molasses Cookies are very near and dear to my heart – mostly because of whom they remind me. My wonderful mother-in-law, whom we lovingly refer to as “Grandma Blick” made these cookies often. We spent as many 4th of July’s with her as we could. She lived in the small town of Blanding, Utah and they have the best 4th of July celebrations ever! Grandma Blick always had a secret stash of these cookies in a tin hiding in a cupboard. She would pull them out and share them with everyone who came to visit. Every 4th of July I think of these soft, chewy cookies and my mouth starts watering!
Tips for Baking, Serving, and Storing Molasses Cookies
If you follow a few simple steps, you will have the most perfect, soft, flavorful Molasses Cookies EVER! Don’t skip the step where you sprinkle water on top of the cookies – it will dissolve some of the sugar on top and give the cookies a nice crinkly texture on top. I love the spices in these cookies – ginger, cloves, cinnamon. The flavors blend well with the molasses. If I can keep them away from my kids and husband, I like to let them sit for a day before eating them. They are always better the second day! The flavors mix together so much more after sitting for a while.
Be sure not to overcook the cookies, this will make them hard and crunchy. To keep the chewy texture, keep a close eye on them in the oven. Pull the cookies out when they are just starting to turn a light brown on top and you can see that they are getting crusty on the top layer of the cookie. After they are cool, keep them in an airtight container.
What Type of Molasses to Use
A commenter asked what type of molasses to use – so I wanted to clear that up. We used light molasses in this recipe. Light molasses tastes the sweetest and is most commonly used in baking. Dark molasses is a little less sweet, and is mostly used in gingerbread cookies. Blackstrap molasses is the thickest and most bitter type of molasses. We would advise you not to use that type of molasses in this recipe as it will not taste as good or have the right texture.
How to Make Molasses Cookies
Ingredients
Mix thoroughly
- 3/4 cup shortening
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup molasses
Instructions
- Chill dough for 1 hour.
- Roll into balls the size of large walnuts.
- Dip top of dough ball in sugar.
- Place 3" apart on greased cookie sheet.
- Sprinkle each cookie with 2 or 3 drops of water.
- Bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes.
- Don't allow cookies to become too dark!
- Keep in airtight container.
How to Philosophize with Cake says
Those look delicious! I love molasses cookies. 🙂
Echo says
Me too! These are my favorite! Thank you for visiting our website!
cindy says
is there a difference in type of molasses used? Is blackstrap molasses generic molasses?
Echo says
There is definitely a difference. Black strap molasses is much stronger in flavor and intensity than general molasses. The cookies will have a different flavor, but it will still work. If I was using black strap molasses in this recipe, or any other recipe that calls for molasses, I would use about 1/2 of what the recipe calls for. Thank you for your question and for visiting our site!
Laura M says
Why do you sprinkle the tops with water?
Echo says
It dissolves the sprinkled sugar just a little bit and gives the top of the cookie a crunchier texture than the rest of the cookie. It’s not necessary, the cookie will be a softer cookie without it. Thank you for asking!
Tracy C says
Have you doubled the recipe? Does it change the chewy texture of the cookie?
Echo says
You can double the recipe without any problems. These cookies are delicious – you will love them!