This recipe for soft and chewy molasses cookies comes from the “You Asked for It” section of Gourmet’s November 1995 issue. A reader requested the recipe after having tasted the cookies at Mocha Molly’s Coffee Saloon in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, which closed in 2006. The old-fashioned favorite has been taking Epi readers back ever since. The addition of vegetable shortening keeps the cookies moist and tender for days—a good quality in any holiday cookie—while butter and a trio of spices (ground cinnamon, cloves, and ginger) bolster the rich molasses flavor.
You could use a stand mixer or hand mixer to bring the cookie dough together, but as long as you remember to soften your butter to room temperature, you can easily make them with just a wooden spoon and a mixing bowl. The recipe instructs you to roll the dough balls in sugar before baking to give the finished cookies a sparkly sheen. But we also love to swap the finishing sugar out for demerara or turbinado, which retain more molasses and have larger crystals than regular granulated sugar, and will bring extra flavor plus a bit of crunch to contrast the soft molasses cookie.
For more of our favorite Christmas cookies, check out our classic iced sugar cookies or gingerbread cookies. Or if you’re looking for ease, try our recipe for 3-Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies.
Recipe information
Total Time
40 minutes
Yield
Makes about 25 cookies
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat oven to 325°F and lightly grease 2 large baking sheets or line with parchment paper.
Step 2
In a large bowl whisk together flour, salt, baking soda, ginger, cloves, and cinnamon.
Step 3
In another large bowl with an electric mixer beat together butter, shortening, and 3 cups sugar until light and fluffy and beat in molasses. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in the dry ingredients and combine well.
Step 4
In a small shallow bowl put remaining ½ cup sugar. Form dough into 2-inch balls and roll in sugar. On baking sheets arrange dough balls about 4 inches apart and flatten slightly with bottom of a glass dipped in sugar.
Step 5
Bake cookies in batches in middle of the oven 15 minutes, or until puffed and golden. (Cookies should be soft.) Transfer cookies with a metal spatula to racks to cool.
Editor’s note: This recipe was originally printed in the November 1995 issue of ‘Gourmet.’ Head this way for more of our best cookie recipes →
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Reviews (185)
Back to Topadjusted the cloves to one tsp and the cinnamon to 2 tsp and reduced sugar to 1 1/2 cup of brown sugar. All butter would be better yet to try it.
Anonymous
SW Montana
12/24/2023
This will be my go to recipe for ginger molasses cookies. Modifications I made : 1/2 brown 1/2 white sugar, upped the spices considerably, added freshly grated ginger to the dough and used a smaller scoop for a smaller cookie. I didn't read all the reviews before making them and agree the cookies are too sweet and next time I will reduce the sugar, something I do as a general rule anyway. But in all other respects this is an excellent cookie with perfect texture and taste. I did have some difficulty deciding when they were done. The recipe says to bake until they are puffed and golden. But the cookies are brown, what does "golden" mean? I happened to be making candied orange peel at the same time. It occurred to me that adding a bit of candied peel and then painting the baked cookie with the orange flavored syrup would be quite nice.
Anonymous
Cameron Park, CA
12/27/2022
Sparkling sugar is the way to go here. More crunch, sticks and doesn't disappear. I also chill the dough for easier handling and let it sit for a few minutes if iit becomes too cold to scoop. These are my husband's favorite cookies.
DeeDee
Southern California
12/17/2022
First time trying this recipe. Best ever. Followed to the tee with two exceptions - added Penzy's crystallized sugar bits and cut cooking time two minutes. Saved to my GO-TO recipe favorites. If you are going to have a cookie once in a while...might as well have a great one! Good old Bon Appetit.... I miss that magazine.
graphicswest2
Kennewick, WA
1/4/2015
After making adjustments suggested by other reviews - loved these. Adjustments made: 1 cup sugar, 1 cup brown sugar, butter rather than shortening, 1/4 extra molasses, and roll in turbinado sugar
Anonymous
Cleveland/Akron, Ohio Area
12/4/2014
Perfect texture. Soft and chewy. YUM! In my oven, they took a couple minutes less to cook or maybe we just prefer them a little extra soft and gooey;)
Seattlite
Seattle,
12/1/2014
These are the best, but we do double the molasses and cut the sugar down to two cups.
JETessendorf
Upstate NY
11/24/2014
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