Holiday Spice Molasses Cookies
These Holiday Spice Molasses Cookies are a classic and winter time favorite. They are easy to make, the dough stays well in the fridge (and can be frozen too!). This recipe was a part of my grandmother’s recipes and is a staple each holiday season and winter.
A few things about making these cookies:
1. We mix the wet ingredients and then fold in the dry ingredients. This gets rid of lumps and makes a very creamy dough.
2. The combination of the brown sugar and molasses give the cookies that lightly crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside texture.
3. This recipe has more molasses than some other recipes. More molasses will give a bit stronger flavor and give a bit more of a chewy dough in texture.
4. Refrigerating the dough is important. Room temp dough will make very flat cookies. Cold dough gives the cookies just enough puffiness.
5. For folks using Vegan butters and coconut oil. Both will substitute nicely using the same measurements in this recipe.
These cookies are very similar (and likely inspired by the Betty Crocker Molasses Crinkles recipe)
A Few Cooking tips for Holiday Spice Molasses Cookies
- For dairy free cookies Vegan butters or coconut oil are good substitutes in the same measurements as shown here. For vegan butter we like Miyoko’s Vegan Butter
- This recipe has more molasses which will make a stickier dough and a chewier cookie.
- If you are looking for a cookie not so sweet use 3/4 cup of dark brown sugar instead of the 1 cup if dark brown sugar.
- The baking temperature is 365. For conventional ovens a baking temperature of 350-355 will work.
- With coconut oil it can be melted for a smoothly mixed dough. If you do this you will need to refrigerate the dough over night. Unchilled dough will make very flat cookies when they bake. Chilled dough will produce cookies like what you see here.
- You don’t have to roll them in sugar. These cookies are delicious with or without the extra sugar on the outside.
Onward…
We used a mixer for this recipe. We use the mixer for most everything since we got it but, I digress… Mixing the wet ingredients first and then folding in the dry ingredients will give you a smooth dough with no lumps.
We add all the wet ingredients in the mixer and put the mixer on level 2 or one of the slower speeds for 2-3 minutes.
You may need a few extra minutes. Make sure there a re no butter lumps. (If you use coconut oil as a non-dairy replacement it will cream well if the coconut oil is room temperature or slightly warmed).
The dough is well on the way here with part of the flour blended in.
Here your dough is finished. It will be sticky. From here refrigerate your dough for at least 3 hours (overnight is best). They will be easy to mold once the dough is chilled. This is a thicker dough so as you add the dry ingredients the cookie dough will get thicker. By the time all the dry ingredients are blended the dough will be thick but spreadable.
We roll these in a Demerara sugar to give it a sweet crispi-ness on the outside. You can use regular sugar with a finer grain. These cookies are wonderful without sugar on the outside.
Once the Holiday Spice Molasses Cookies come out of the kitchen let them cool, use a cooling rack. These cookies will be crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside once baked. These cookies will keep nicely for several days in a covered container. The cookie dough will keep nicely in the fridge for a week.
PrintHoliday Spice Molasses Cookies
A sweet, spicy cookie which is crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. This is a fridge cookie. The dough chills and keeps very well.
Ingredients
1. 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
2. 1 egg
3. 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
4. 1/3 cup Molasses
5. 2 teaspoons baking soda
6. 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
7. 1 1/2 teaspoons Cinnamon
8. 1 teaspoon Powdered Ginger
9. 1/2 teaspoon ground Cloves
10. 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
1. Soften the butter to room temperature.
2. Blend the sugar, butter and egg first until creamy and completely blended.
3. Add the ginger, cinnamon, cloves, Vanilla, and salt to the blended wet ingredients
4. Fold in the remaining dry ingredients a bit at a time to ensure a creamy cookie dough.
5. Once it is creamy, chill the dough for 3 hours at least. An overnight chill is the best.
6. Preheat the oven to 365 degrees.
7. Roll out the cookies dough into balls and roll them in sugar(or not, they are wonderful without sugar as well). You have flexibility on the size. We use a generous teaspoon of dough.
8. Bake for 11-13 minutes.
9. Let the cookies cool on the tray or on a cooling rack.
Enjoy!
