Soft and Chewy Ginger Molasses Cookies
Classic soft and chewy ginger molasses cookies – these delectable, holiday (or anytime) treats are like gingerbread in cookie form!
These chewy, ginger molasses cookies are the epitome of holiday flavors, if you ask me. They taste like Christmas. They make your house smell like Christmas.
Basically, it’s just not the Christmas season without them. I grew up eating these delightful little cookies and can’t live without them this time of year.
Once the soft ginger molasses cookies are baked – well, game on. It’s officially time to jingle the bells and trim the tree and blare the Christmas carols (except I’ve actually been playing Christmas music for weeks now – don’t sue me).
The super soft cookie dough is rolled into balls and then rolled into granulated sugar to give that signature crunchy-sweet outer coating.
The key to this recipe is to use *just* the right amount of flour.
Too little and the dough will be too soft to roll (and the cookies will spread like crazy); too much and the tasty cookies will stay mounded instead of flattening with the signature crackly tops.
I use my handy kitchen scale to measure exactly 20 ounces. If you’re measuring with a cup, fluff the flour really well, scoop the measuring cup into the flour and then level off with a straight edge.
There really is nothing quite like these classic soft molasses cookies. They are divine.
If you want a crazy delicious variation, try adding fresh orange zest to the dough. You have to trust me on this one. It takes these cookies completely over the top.
I shouldn’t know this, but I do: these cookies are still amazingly chewy, albeit slightly chilly, straight out of the freezer, which makes me think they’d be absolutely ridiculous (in a good way) with some pumpkin or vanilla or cinnamon ice cream sandwiched inside.
Ok, so now that I’ve said that out loud, I’m not going to be able to sleep until I make that happen.
These cookies have been around a long time and are insanely popular with so many of you! I’ve compiled a list of FAQ’s below in case you don’t want to read through the hundreds of comments.
My cookies didn’t flatten and crackle? What happened?
Answer: Often when cookies stay puffy while baking instead of flattening the way they should, the dough has been overfloured. Make sure to measure the flour with a light hand (if you are weighing, it should be 20 ounces). I fluff the flour in the container, dip in the measuring cup and then level. Don’t pack the flour in the measuring cup. Also, because ovens vary in exact temperature (sometimes by upwards of 25-50 degrees!), try decreasing the oven temperature by 25 degrees and see if that helps.
My cookies spread all over the place? Help!
Answer: On the flipside of what I answered above, cookies can spread for a couple reasons, but one of the most common culprits (and easiest to fix) is oven temperature. If you have convection bake option on your oven, using it can help (if a recipe says to bake at 350 degrees F, I suggest using 325 for convection bake and checking 1-2 minutes earlier than normal). If you don’t have convection bake, try increasing the oven temperature to 375 degrees F – that often helps! Otherwise, your dough might need a bit more flour (sometimes just a couple tablespoons).
Can I leave out the cloves? Or add allspice? Or use real ginger?
Answer: Great questions! The only variation I’ve ever tried is cutting down and/or leaving out the cloves. Otherwise, you’ll have to experiment and see what flavor profile you like best! Leaving out or changing the spices most likely won’t affect the texture of the cookies – just the flavor.
Can I make these ginger cookies ahead of time?
Answer: Yes! The baked and cooled cookies stay soft and chewy for several days (well-covered at room temperature). The baked cookies also freeze great. I usually stack them in a large, rectangle tupperware-type container separating the layers with wax or parchment paper or in a freezer ziploc bag. The dough can also be made ahead of time, shaped into balls, and frozen. The cookies can be baked from frozen (add a few minutes to the baking time).
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Soft and Chewy Ginger Molasses Cookies
Ingredients
- 4 cups (568 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 ½ cups (340 g) salted butter, softened
- 1 ½ cups (318 g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup molasses
- Sugar for rolling
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a couple large, rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper, silpat liners or lightly coat with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and ginger. Set aside.
- In a large bowl (or in the bowl of an electric stand mixer), beat together the butter and granulated sugar, 2-3 minutes, until light and creamy. Add the molasses and eggs and mix until well-combined, another 2-3 minutes.
- Stir in the dry ingredients and mix until combined.
- The dough can be rolled and baked right away, but the cookies will be slightly thicker and chewier if refrigerated for a bit. If so, chill for 20-30 minutes (or up to several days) before rolling into balls.
- Roll the dough into 1-inch balls (you can make them smaller or larger, too) and then roll the cookie dough balls into granulated sugar. Space the cookies an inch or so apart on the lined cookie sheets and bake for 8-10 minutes (don’t over bake if you want a soft, chewy cookie). Adjust the baking time, more or less, if the cookies are overly small or large.
- Remove the cookies to a cooling rack and let cool completely. These cookies stay soft and chewy well-covered for several days at room temperature and the baked cookies also freeze very well.
Recipe Source: from this recipe (same as the one my mom made growing up, come to find out) at Meadowbrook Farm
Recipe originally posted Dec 2014; updated Jan 2020 with new photos, recipe notes, etc.
Delicious and chewy!
These are one of my favorite cookie’s now! Fantastic recipe- thanks!
Thanks, Becky!
Deliciously chewy cookies, will be making them repeatedly this holiday season!
I know most gingerbread cookies call for brown sugar; what might happen if I substituted the white sugar in this recipe for brown sugar, or 50/50?
Would probably work just fine!
Veganized thos recipe by switching out the butter and eggs. Delicious! Will definitely make again 🙂
We have an egg allergy, what did you find worked best for your egg substitute in this recipe?
These are supreme! I halved the recipe & subbed all-spice for ginger (I was out of ginger), and they whole family loved these cookies. I also rolled them in turbinado sugar. Oh yum – these truly stayed soft and chewy. Great, great job. Thanks for the recipe!!
Easy to make gooey delicious cookies that even the biggest critic will love.
Mel, I love you. Made these tonight and they are perfect! I think my first batch came out a tad underdone but they were still so yummy. Thank you for sharing; this will become a regular Christmas cookie in our house, along with your s’mores ones.
So happy you loved the, Kimberly! Thanks for letting me know.
I tried really, really hard to love these. I made 6 batches this weekend. The flavour is so good, but mine did not look like yours whatsoever- no beautiful cracking at all. I tried chilling for just 30 mins, chilling overnight, different states of butter softness, bought new baking soda, etc. I ended up with varying cookie textures, but they were ugly and flat every time. I wondered if maybe I was under-baking them, so I left one batch in for a bit longer, but just ended up with the same ugly cookies, but crispy.
Any ideas about what I could be doing wrong?
Did they flatten too much? Like, were they really thin? If so, you might try increasing the oven temp by 25 degrees or adding a bit more flour.
We love this Christmas cookie
They were yummy but did not turn out flat, should I flatten with a fork next time?
Yes, or try cutting down the flour a bit…that should help (or decreasing your oven temperature by 25 degrees).
For some odd reason, this recipe burned every single batch? Not exactly sure as to why that’s happening so any feedback would be great? My cookies also did not spread? Followed the recipe to a t and used good quality ingredients?
If the cookies are burning, it’s probably not related to the recipe – sounds like your oven may cook hotter than mine, so you might try turning the oven down by 25 degrees or so. If the cookies didn’t spread, try adding a bit less flour.
These cookies are the perfect texture! I’m so in love…if you need me from now until February, I’ll be either making or eating these. THANK YOU, wonderful recipe!!
Haha, thanks Annie!
Will the cookies come out the same if you use turbinado sugar instead?
I’m not sure, I haven’t tried that – sorry!
I used turbinado sugar and they came out great. I also split the sugar with brown sugar. This is a wonderful recipe and will be a family favorite!!
Thank you for these lovely cookies. Going to bring them to the office… if my husband leaves any
What temperature should the oven be on?
375 degrees F
I am making these as we speak. I used butter and they are wonderful! Crisp edges and chewy centers
I’ve made these cookies several times now, this recipe will not disappoint. My family loves them! So chewy and buttery with the perfect amount of spices and molasses, you will want to eat more than one. Thanks for this great recipe, delicious!
Can I use oil instead of butter???
I don’t think the results will be the same, but you could experiment.
This is the exact recipe I’ve made for years (20+), EXCEPT my recipe calls for 1 1/3 cups of oil instead of the butter. If the dough isn’t stiff enough to roll in balls, because of the additional liquid in the oil, just add a little more flour. I’ve never made them with butter, so can’t rate the recipe on that, but the blend of molasses and spices and the crunchy/chewy texture is the BEST!
My son loves molasses cookies and asked me to bake some for him to take to work. Couldn’t find my recipe and came upon this recipe and baked them. They are by far the best molasses cookies I have ever had and everyone enjoyed them. SInce finding this site I have made a few recipes and none of them disappoint!
These have the BEST texture and the perfect holiday gingersnap flavor. I’ve made them twice and both batches turned out great. So chewy! A hit for sure!
Okay, I’m sold and will bake some this evening. But I like my cookies chewy in the middle and crunchy on the edges. Will they get that way if I just bake them a bit longer? Also, Im5going to roll them in turbinado sugar mixed with a little orange peel.
Sure, try baking them a few minutes longer and see how that goes. 🙂
I have never received as many compliments on any cookie I’ve baked as the Ginger Molasses Cookies. Thank you so much for doing all the testing and perfecting while your readers stand back and accept the accolades. You are the best!
I made these cookies for my family this Christmas. This was my first time ever making ginger molasses cookies and they loved them. I have orders to make them again for New Year. Thanks for a winning recipe.
So happy you loved them and that your family did, too!
These are awesome! Baked up perfectly. I even accidentally used nutmeg instead of cloves and they still turned out amazing. If anyone is interested, I halved the recipe and they worked well. Thanks!
This is what we leave for Santa every year, and he loves them LOL
Wow … Wow and wow
Wow! Followed the recipe exactly & these cookies are excellent! I did switch from parchment paper to non-stick aluminum foil on my cookie sheets after the first sheets suffered from curling edges of the parchment which messed up some cookies. Just had to eat those. Such a hardship! . This recipe is definitely going into my “recipes for the grandkids” file.
Hi Mel!
I am new to your site but can’t wait to try your recipes! The ginger cookies sound delicious but I want to know if I can make bars instead of cookies. Does 350 degrees for 15 or 20 minutes sound about right? Parchment paper or cooking spray?
Hi Jackie – I haven’t ever converted this recipe to bars, so I don’t know. Sorry! You could try 350 degrees but it might be more like 20-25 minutes.
These turned out perfectly! My first Ginger cookies I’ve ever baked.
Made these by hand (without an electric mixer), and it turned out great!
Soft, chewy and perfect combination of sweet, slightly spiced. Kids loved it! One of their favorites Christmas cookies! Looked like cookies you can buy from a bakery. Yummmm
Thanks for sharing this great recipe!
Delicious and pretty easy. Makes a lot and uses a lot of butter.
I’ve had this recipe in my “memory box”for a couple of years. So long, to be honest, I can’t remember when I bought the molasses but we’re still far, far away from the expiration date. Anyway, today I FINALLY made them. Oh, my. The first batch I set the timer for 8 minutes, advanced it a bit to 9, and took them out at 10 minutes. A few were just a little too big, so I forced myself to eat them – you know, I experimented to be sure they tasted okay. And they did! I got the timing right, the size right, and I have several dozen cookies all put away for the Christmas Eve dinner. There would be more, but, well, I had to be sure they tasted okay, so I even gave the dog a few bites, and my husband, and, well, (I didn’t need any dinner.) This recipe is a keeper for sure. The spices are light and well balanced, the molasses is not overwhelming, and as stated so many other times, the outside is crunchy and the inside chewy. Thank you for a great cookie.
These were AWESOME! I made some for my husband’s co-worker this past week and he said people kept coming back for seconds.
Oh man, I don’t have any ground cloves! Could ground allspice be used? I don’t even know how I would substitute it.
I’d probably just leave out the cloves…maybe a pinch of allspice but start with a small amount.
I was skeptical at first but, holy heck, these are quite possibly the best cookie I’ve ever had, no exaggeration! I refrigerated the dough over night, and when I took it out, I was worried because it was very hard and on the dry side. But I baked a tray and wow – heaven. Thought first batch appeared high, so pushed down with glass as suggested by sanither poster. The result was a thin cookie with chewy center. Next couple of batches I just depressed balls into thick disks and baked. That did the job, as I got perfect (for me) roundness (2 1/2” D) and thickness (~3/8”).
Everyone that has tried them loves them! I took them to a party and several people asked for the recipe. They aren’t as pretty as other holiday cookies, but they sure are tasty!
I just finished making these, and oh my, they are delicious! Slightest bit of crisp on the outside and just amazingly ‘soft and chewy’ as described on the inside!
Thank you for a great recipe, my friends, family and mailman thank you too!
*Cheers!*
Does the flour need to be sifted before measuring??
I didn’t sift it prior and they turned out fantastic!
No, I don’t sift before measuring.
I may have posted about this recipe already. We loved these before we went gluten free so i had to experiment with Bob’s 1 to 1 gluten free flour. The results were excellent. I didn’t change a thing. I did refrigerate for a few hours before baking.
I hope this helps.
That’s great feedback, Vanessa! Thank you!
I just got done making these with my two preschoolers and they were absolutely amazing! We were all a little nervous to taste the finished product because we have tried out two other ginger cookies this week from other recipe sources and they were so bad we had to trash them. I was soooo amazed at this recipe! Chewy ginger cookies remind me of my childhood so I’m so glad to have found a recipe that I can make with my little kids. Thank you for your amazing recipes! They never disappoint!!
So happy to hear this, Morgan!
The BEST!!! So soft and chewy and perfect sweetness.
I make these often but my recipe all’s for shortening. I’m going to try all butter which is usually my preference. Another reader my have suggested it but I roll mine in turbinado sugar or sugar in the raw. I love the added texture and crunch with the chewy factor.
These cookies are just perfect!
I love, love, love ginger and I wanted to know if I could incorporate real grated ginger into the recipe verses ground ginger. If so how much of it would you suggest? 🙂
That’s a great question, but I’ve never tried it, so I’m not sure. Sorry!
Absolutely perfect!! I’m going to have to make all your cookies from the last newsletter. I’m so excited. I do have a question. I bought the USA bread loaf pans at your recommendation and I’m crazy in love with them, they’re amazing. I wonder if you use their cookie sheets as well? Cuz I’d rather not spend the money on the cookie sheets if you still use parchment paper on them. I hate parchment paper so much. No real reason, I just do.
I actually did try one of the USA cookie sheets…and I didn’t like it. My cookies baked too quickly and browned too fast on the bottom, so I’m sticking with the inexpensive 2-pack ones they sell at Sam’s and Costco.
First time making molasses cookies and these were just as described. Absolutely delicious and chewy! First batch came out too rounded so the next batch I pushed down the dough with bottom of glass to flatten out the cookie a bit. It worked – came out looking just like ones in picture.
This is my exact problem! I’ll try the glass flattening for the next batch. Thanks!
These are the best ginger cookies I have ever had. They are the ONLY cookie I make that my kids request. They are chewy and wonderful
Just make a batch and they’re the best I’ve tried, Thank you!
I’m not sure what happened (maybe got distracted from adding the correct amounts of ingredients?), but these came out super flat as they melted in the oven and seemed to be lacking in substance. I refrigerated the dough for 30+ minutes and it seemed light and fluffy. Any ideas what went wrong? We usually love your recipes!
Hi Meesa – you might need to add a bit more flour (especially if there are elevation differences or if we each measure flour a bit differently). Also, because oven temperatures vary (sometimes by quite a bit), I’ve found that increasing the oven temp to 375 degrees can help with flattening cookies.
Hello,
I just made these, they are delicious, but they do not look like your picture. They are thicker and not chewy. I made some with room temperature dough and some with chilled dough. Any suggestions on how to make them thin and chewy?
Try cutting down the flour by 3-4 tablespoons and see if that helps!
Thank you, they turned out much better today. I decreased the flour and tried not to over beat.
This is a super yummy recipe for a classic cookie. I just made them today, and they turned out soft and chewy, just as promised!