Chewy Ginger Molasses Cookies
Soft, tender, old-fashioned ginger molasses cookies with shortening have crackly, sparkling tops and perfectly-spiced flavor. They will make your house smell amazing and take just 30 minutes, start to finish. These are a holiday favorite, but my family requests them year-round!
This exact recipe for chewy ginger molasses cookies has been a staple in our home for more than a decade, ever since I had the good fortune to sample the product and snag the recipe from a good friend at a long-ago holiday cookie exchange.
We bake multiple batches of these every December without fail — they are truly the perfect Christmas cookie — but there’s no reason not to enjoy them year-round. My husband and kids request them in all seasons. And I am only too happy to oblige!
What makes these the best
- Perfectly soft texture
- Rich molasses flavor
- A little sugar sparkle on the outside
- SO EASY to make – no need to chill the dough!
Personally my favorite thing about these cookies is the soft texture. The outside develops beautiful deep crackles as the cookies bake and then cool, while the interior has a moist, tender crumb that yields perfectly with every bite.
Then again, the best thing might be the flavor. These are generously spiced, so you enjoy the full taste and aroma of ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and molasses in each and every bite.
Ingredients & Common Substitutions
Here are a few notes and shopping tips about the ingredients you’ll need to make these chewy ginger molasses cookies, as well as possible substitutions:
- Baking basics: all-purpose flour, baking soda, salt, granulated sugar, and eggs. Why only granulated sugar? Mixing molasses directly into the cookies achieves the same chewy, rich effect you would normally derive from brown sugar, and allows you to rely on white granulated sugar for a more refined flavor and slightly crisp exteriors.
- Spices: cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. And plenty of each!
- Molasses. A star of the show!
- Shortening. Yes, this recipe uses your standard shortening — ie., Crisco — to produce that incredibly tender, soft cookie. You can substitute half butter, if you like.
Which brand of molasses to use?
Stores often stock a variety of molasses brands and types, ranging from a comparatively light molasses to dark or “robust” to the most intense, blackstrap. This can be confusing if you’re not sure what to look for! A dark or robust molasses is usually a safe bet when baking. Blackstrap molasses is very intense; I would not recommend it for general baking.
Grandma’s brand original/unsulphured molasses is widely available in my area and produces consistent results–rich but not overwhelming. Wholesome! brand molasses is also widely available at Whole Foods, on Amazon, and in natural markets. It has a very good flavor but is usually quite dark in color, which will carry over to your baked goods. Be sure to look for their original molasses, not their blackstrap variety; the packaging is very similar.
Can I use whole wheat flour?
I don’t recommend using 100% whole wheat flour, but a 50-50 combination of white whole wheat and all-purpose flour does work.
Why use shortening instead of butter?
Shortening keeps this ginger molasses cookie recipe quick and easy–using butter makes the cookies more difficult to roll out into smooth balls, and can yield much more variation in how much the cookies spread while they bake. (This depends in large part on the exact temperature of the butter at the time it’s creamed with the sugar. Because shortening is stored at room temperature, it removes all guesswork.)
The typical argument for using butter is to add flavor, but in this case, the cookies derive incredible flavor simply from the molasses and the generous spices.
All this to say, you can certainly substitute butter for half of the shortening, or even for all of it–experiment and see what you like best!
How To Make Chewy Ginger Molasses Cookies
This is a very quick and simple recipe, and best of all: you do not need to chill the dough.
I repeat: NO NEED TO CHILL THE DOUGH.
Can I get an amen??
You’ll begin by combining the dry ingredients — flour, salt, baking soda, spices — and giving them a good whisk or stir. This helps to ensure the spices are evenly distributed in the finished dough, which is extra important because they are plentiful.
Cream shortening and sugar together on high speed. Add egg and molasses, followed by the flour mixture, beating well at every step to ensure everything is well-distributed.
The dough will be soft but sturdy enough to hold its shape well.
Scoop out balls about 1″ in diameter, and roll each lightly between the palms of your hands to form into a smooth ball. Roll each in a bit more sugar to give the cookies a final touch of sweetness and a beautiful sparkle. I usually use additional granulated sugar for this, but turbinado sugar works very well, too.
Pro Tip: For the ultimate convenience, use a cookie scoop to portion out dough. This medium-sized scoop is a workhorse. Scoops are terrific for muffin and cupcake batter, and meatballs as well!
Bake cookies and let cool for about 10 minutes on the cookie sheets before transferring to a wire rack. Don’t skip the chance to sample one fresh from the oven — it’s divine!
Variations and Add-Ins
Want to mix it up a little? Feel free to:
- Add a pinch of nutmeg to the dough, or an extra 1/2 teaspoon of another spice.
- Dip the baked cookies partially in melted white chocolate, candy melts, or almond bark. Sprinkle with festive holiday sprinkles if you’re into that.
- Drizzle the cookies with a light glaze — like maple.
Make Ahead and Freezing Instructions
These cookies are also extremely adaptable!
- Baking in batches: If you need to pause and resume baking another day, the dough can be placed in the fridge overnight and simply returned to room temperature before shaping and baking.
- To freeze before baking (preferred method): Make the dough as directed, scoop mounds onto a parchment-lined baking sheet or plate, and place in the freezer, uncovered, for about an hour. Do not roll in sugar yet! After an hour, combine the frozen cookie dough balls in an airtight container or zip-top plastic bag. Freeze for up to 3 months. When ready to bake, remove cookies from the freezer, roll in sugar, and place directly onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, and bake as directed, adding just 2-3 minutes to the baking time.
- To freeze after baking: Let baked cookies cool fully, then stack in an airtight container, separating individual cookies with wax paper. Defrost at room temperature as needed. These are still good, for sure, but in my opinion slightly less fresh and less convenient than freezing the balls of raw cookie dough and baking as needed.
More Christmas Cookies You’ll Love
- Peppermint Bark Cookies
- Sprinkle Sugar Cookies
- Soft Eggnog Sugar Cookies
- Chocolate Chip Toffee Shortbread
- Classic Chocolate Crinkles
- Peanut Butter Blossoms
That’s a lot of information about a simple cookie, but hopefully it all helps you have the most success in your kitchen! These cookies smell and taste like a slice of heaven, and I hope they’re as big a hit with your family and friends as they are with mine, year after year.
If you make these Chewy Ginger Molasses Cookies, don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave a comment below. I love hearing how recipes turn out in your kitchen, and it helps other readers, too.
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Chewy Ginger Molasses Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup shortening
- 1 cup granulated sugar plus more for rolling
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup molasses
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt. Set aside.
- Beat shortening and 1 cup sugar with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy. Add the egg and molasses, and beat again until well-combined. Add flour mixture, and mix on low speed just until incorporated.
- Scoop the dough into balls about 1-inch in diameter, and roll each gently between your palms to smooth it out. Place a small amount of sugar in a small, shallow dish. Roll each ball in the sugar before placing on the baking sheets.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, then allow to cool on the sheets for about 10 minutes before removing to wire racks.
Notes
- You can sub room temperature butter for all or part of the shortening, but I like to use at least 1/4 cup of shortening because it helps the cookies hold their shape.
- If you want flatter, thinner cookies, just press the dough balls down slightly with a drinking glass before baking.
- Cookies will keep well at room temperature for about 4 days. The dough balls can be frozen, as well. Bake them straight from frozen just as directed, adding just 1-2 minutes to the bake time.
Nutrition Estimate
This post was originally published December 14, 2018, and has been updated with new photos and more detailed, helpful text about the cookies.
This was an easy, but really tasty cookie to make on a cold winter day. I’m having tea and a couple, well, maybe four cookies, and will watch the snow come down. I recommend them.
3
This is the third recipe I have made for xmas..is my least favorite in taste and texture. Baked up very nice with cracked top but not chewy..spice mix is ok but nothing remarkable compared to the other two recipes thank you.
Sorry these didn’t meet your expectations, Marnie! Would love to know the other recipes you tried and preferred the spice mixture! If these were not chewy, however, I would note they were almost certainly over-baked – with shortening for the fat, there’s really no other way for them to become crisp. Merry Christmas all the same!
I have been eating these cookies for 60 years! Dough makes great gingerbread men. Appreciate your tips and will incorporate them.
This was phenomenal, but the first time I made it, I made some accidental adjustments out of laziness. I made them again just like the recipe, and the result was great, but the lazy version turned out a whole different cookie, so I thought I’d share. Two dumb changes, one phenomenal cookie:
Scant the shortening by eye, because I was weighing it in and it felt like a lot of shortening. Then, when you’re ready to drop the cookies, level your scoop roughly with the back of a measuring spoon, or your bowl scraper, whatever you’ve already dirtied with the dough. Just knock it flattish, then drop and round it out. Could also use a cookie scoop half the size, but I don’t have one, and my cookie scoop has spoiled me, so I’d hate to do it with some other spoon.
Now having made this “scant version” on purpose, I think it’s my current favorite drop cookie. Thanks for this recipe, both in its own right and the scant way!
Fantastic recipe! Turned out so soft and delicious!
Absolutely incredible 👏🏻👌🏻
The flavor of these cookies are great! But my dough was sticky and they really flattened out during the bake. Is this normal? I did use 1/4 cup of butter for part of the shortening.
Using butter instead of shortening can definitely contribute to additional spreading, especially if the butter was extremely soft or melted when mixed into the dough. I’m glad you enjoyed the flavor! If you make them again with butter, it might be worth chilling the dough for 20-30 minutes prior to baking to avoid the stickiness and flattening out.
These cookies are amazing! The perfect amount of chew. We devoured 2 dozen in a couple days.
I’ve been there, Heather! So glad you enjoyed them!
I initially made these for a cookie exchange but my kids loved these so much that I had to make a second batch.! They are soft and full of the gingerbread flavor we love but without the hardness. I used butter to make these as that was all I had and they couldn’t be more perfect!
I make a similar cookie and they are always everyones favorite. So chewy and full of ginger and spice. Such a classic cookie loved by all!
One of my favorites for the holidays! Adding these to my baking list!
I love that Christina didn’t mind giving you the recipe for these! Yum, they look perfect and a really good present for people for this time of year.
Ginger molasses cookies are one of my favourite Christmas cookies! These ones look perfectly chewy, soft, and delicious!