Soft and chewy molasses crinkle cookies are a holiday baking staple, though they're delicious any time of year. Molasses, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves give these quick and easy spice cookies their incredible flavor before they're rolled in sugar and baked to chewy perfection. This old-fashioned recipe was passed down by my grandma, and it's a family favorite at Christmas!
Old-fashioned molasses crinkle cookies just might be my all-time favorite Christmas cookie! Their soft and chewy texture simply can't be beat, and their ginger and spice flavor is truly delightful. Like gingerbread cookies, molasses cookies are full of delicious spices, but they're a bit sweeter since they're rolled in sugar before baking. And I simply can't get enough of their beautiful crinkle tops.
Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
See recipe card at the bottom of this post for full ingredient list and measurements.
Molasses - Molasses is of course the key ingredient in molasses crinkle cookies. It gives these cookies their distinctive flavor, and it pairs beautifully with warming spices of ground ginger, cinnamon, and cloves. It also adds moisture to the cookie dough and activates the baking soda. I recommend dark molasses for this recipe (check out the FAQ section below for more information).
Granulated Sugar - Sugar adds both sweetness and structure to the cookie dough. Plus these cookies are rolled in sugar before baking, which helps to create sweet, crackly tops (see FAQs below for more information).
Vegetable Shortening - This recipe uses vegetable shortening instead of butter, and while I'm a huge fan of butter, hear me out. Shortening and butter are both fats, and fat is a necessary ingredient in cookies because it adds moisture and tenderness to the dough. Because of their different make up (vegetable shortening is 100% fat while butter is 80% to 86% fat plus water), shortening will yield a cookie that is more tender and chewy, though butter provides delicious flavor to cookies. Since the molasses and spices in these cookies provide such a rich flavor and these cookies don't rely on butter for flavor, I use shortening instead of butter to create a flavorful molasses cookie that is supremely chewy. It's the way Grandma made them, and I'm not messing with perfection!
Special Equipment
In addition to essential baking equipment (like a mixing bowl and whisk), I recommend some special tools for making this recipe.
- A stand mixer or electric hand mixer for mixing the cookie dough.
Step-By-Step Instructions
See recipe card at the bottom of this post for detailed recipe instructions.
Step 1: In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves.
Step 2: Beat shortening, sugar, and molasses until combined.
Step 3: Add egg and beat on high speed until blended.
Step 4: Slowly add flour mixture to wet ingredients, blending just until incorporated.
Step 5: Pour extra sugar onto a small plate. Roll dough into balls and roll each ball in sugar.
Step 6: Chill the dough balls in the fridge for 30 minutes before baking.
Step 7: Bake cookies at 350°F for 8-10 minutes, until cookies spread and flatten. Edges should appear slightly crisped and centers should still be slightly puffed.
Step 8: Cool cookies on tray for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Cookies will firm up a bit and tops will crackle as they cool.
Recipe Tips
Be careful not to over mix the cookie dough, which can lead to an overly dense and less chewy cookie.
Do not over bake the cookies. As noted in the recipe instructions, the cookies should be puffed up and just beginning to crack when they're removed from the oven. The crinkle tops will develop as the cookies cool. If the cookies are baked until the tops are heavily cracked, they are over baked and will be crispy.
For perfectly round cookies, place a large, round cookie cutter over the cookies on the tray immediately after baking them, swirling the cookie cutter around each cookies' edges to help shape the still-hot cookies.
Recipe FAQs
Molasses cookies and gingersnaps have a similar flavor profile and crackled appearance, but they are not the same. Molasses cookies are chewy and soft (and a little bit sweeter), while gingersnaps have a crispy texture.
There are three types of molasses: light (often called "mild"), dark (often called "robust" or "full flavor"), and blackstrap. I recommend dark molasses, such as Grandma's Molasses Robust and Brer Rabbit Full Flavor Molasses, for baking molasses cookies because of its deep molasses flavor. If you prefer, you can also use light molasses (such as Grandma's Molasses Original and Brer Rabbit Mild Molasses), which has a more mild flavor and is sweeter than dark molasses, for this recipe. Avoid blackstrap molasses when baking molasses cookies, as it has a bitter flavor and should only be used for baking when the recipe specifically calls for it. You can read more about the different types of molasses in my gingerbread snowflake cookies recipe post.
Rolling cookies in sugar before baking helps to create a crackly top, which is why crinkle cookies are almost always sugar-coated. Sugar is hygroscopic, which means that it attracts and soaks up water. By adding sugar to the outside of the cookie, water in the dough is drawn out as it bakes, so the tops of the cookies dry and crack while the center remains soft. But don't worry - even with these crinkles on top, these cookies are chewy throughout!
There are a number of factors that can cause cookies to be flat. Measuring ingredients correctly, chilling the dough before baking, and baking the cookies with parchment paper (or silicone baking mats) will help to ensure the cookies don't spread too much when baking. Check out this post for a guide to avoiding flat cookies.
Storage Instructions
Molasses crinkle cookies keep very well, so they're an excellent make-ahead Christmas cookie. These cookies will become even more soft as time goes on, and they won't become dry or crumbly like so many other cookies do when stale.
Room Temperature: Seal completely cooled cookies in an airtight container and store at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Freezing: Molasses cookies freeze and defrost beautifully when sealed in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Check out my post with everything you need to know about freezing cookie dough and baked cookies for more information!
More Spice Cookie Recipes
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Recipe
Molasses Cookies
Special Equipment
- Stand mixer or electric hand mixer
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups (210 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons (9 grams) baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon (1.5 grams) ground ginger
- ¾ teaspoon (1.5 grams) ground cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon (1.5 grams) ground cloves
- ¾ cup (138 grams) vegetable shortening
- 1 cup (198 grams) granulated sugar (plus more for rolling cookies)
- ¼ cup (85 grams) molasses
- 1 large egg
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves. Set aside.1 ¾ cups (210 grams) all-purpose flour, 1 ½ teaspoons (9 grams) baking soda, ¾ teaspoon (1.5 grams) ground ginger, ¾ teaspoon (1.5 grams) ground cinnamon, ¾ teaspoon (1.5 grams) ground cloves
- In the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a large bowl using an electric hand mixer), beat shortening, sugar, and molasses on medium speed until combined.¾ cup (138 grams) vegetable shortening, 1 cup (198 grams) granulated sugar, ¼ cup (85 grams) molasses
- Add egg and beat on high speed until blended.1 large egg
- Slowly add flour mixture, blending just until incorporated.
- Pour extra sugar onto a small plate. Roll dough into balls and roll each ball in sugar.
- Chill the dough balls in the fridge for 30 minutes before baking.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and place cookie dough balls 3 inches apart on a cookie sheet lined with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes, until cookies spread and flatten. Edges should appear slightly crisped and centers should still be slightly puffed. Cool cookies on tray for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Cookies will firm up a bit and tops will crackle as they cool.
Gwenyth says
A nice ginger cookie. I used lard as that was what I had in solid form and they cooked up beautifully. I used a #60 cookie scoop so got 43 cookies. They are a great size. Definitely baked nicer after being chilled the full 30 minutes. I put my first batch in the freezer for 20 minutes while the others rested in the fridge. They all baked up well but the 30 minute refrigerated batches have a nicer appearance. I will use this recipe on repeat. Thanks.
Allison Ferraro says
So glad to hear that you loved this recipe, Gwenyth! I've never tried this recipe with lard but am curious to. The 30 minute chill time definitely makes a difference!
- Allison
Sheila says
How many calories in a cookie ?
My grandchildren love these cookies.
Allison Ferraro says
Hi Sheila! I'm so glad to hear these cookies are a hit with your family! I'm not able to provide nutrition information for my recipes at this time, but I am exploring options for adding this information to my website.
- Allison
Sheila says
I cannot tell you how many hundreds of molasses cookies I have made, everyone loves them. Just lately they have been flat and thin, what am I doing wrong ??
Allison Ferraro says
Hi Sheila! There are many factors that could have caused your cookies to become flat. I'd be happy to help you troubleshoot... just send me an email at [email protected].
- Allison
Linda @ 2 Cookin' Mamas says
Thanks for the mention! It's always so nice to meet other food bloggers ( at least virtually). Love your video on the cookies disappearing and they look like they would go fast. Merry Christmas!
Allison says
Thanks so much Linda! I assure you that your cookies disappeared very quickly in my house (more quickly than I'd like to admit!). Merry Christmas!
xx Allison