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Molasses Cookies

Molasses cookies with deeply spiced flavor and sugar-sparkled tops—bake until the centers look slightly underdone for soft, chewy texture and crisp edges. The dough is chilled briefly so the crinkled, bakery-style surface forms reliably.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 11 minutes
chilling 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 1 minute
Servings: 36 servings
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 120
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Dry ingredients
  • 2.25 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 1.5 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp ginger
  • 0.5 tsp cloves
  • 0.25 tsp allspice
  • 0.25 tsp black pepper
  • 0.5 tsp salt
Wet ingredients
  • 0.75 cup unsalted butter softened
  • 1 cup brown sugar packed
  • 0.25 cup granulated sugar
  • 0.33 cup molasses not blackstrap
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
For rolling
  • 0.33 cup granulated sugar

Equipment

  • 1 sheet pan

Method
 

Mix the dry ingredients
  1. Whisk together all-purpose flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, allspice, black pepper, and salt until evenly combined.
Cream the wet ingredients
  1. Beat unsalted butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until fluffy, then mix in molasses, egg, and vanilla extract until smooth.
Combine and chill
  1. Fold the flour mixture into the wet ingredients just until combined, with no dry streaks remaining.
  2. Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes to firm it up before shaping.
Bake
  1. Preheat the oven to 375°F and line baking sheets with parchment.
  2. Scoop dough into 1-1/2 tablespoon balls, then roll generously in granulated sugar for a sparkly top.
  3. Bake for 9-11 minutes, until tops are crinkled and the centers look underdone.
Cool and set
  1. Cool on the pan for 5 minutes so the cookies firm up into chewy centers with crisp edges.

Notes

Pro tip: stop baking when the centers still look slightly underdone—residual heat finishes the set while keeping the middle soft. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days; freeze baked cookies up to 2 months. For a gluten-free swap, use a 1:1 gluten-free all-purpose flour blend (choose one with xanthan gum) and proceed the same way.