Chocolate-Molasses Cookies Recipe (2024)

By Alison Roman

Chocolate-Molasses Cookies Recipe (1)

Total Time
About 40 minutes
Rating
4(1,813)
Notes
Read community notes

All you need to shape this dead simple dough are your hands (and maybe a helper or two). Decidedly more “grown up” in flavor — both the molasses and cocoa give bitter notes that play off the spiciness of the fresh ginger — the cookies are tiny in size by design to complement their intensity. For rolling, any coarse decorative sugar works, as would Demerara or an unrefined sugar.

Featured in: Festive Cookies That Won’t Leave You Frazzled

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Ingredients

Yield:About 40 cookies

  • ½cup/115 grams unsalted butter (1 stick)
  • 1tablespoon freshly grated ginger (optional)
  • cups/190 grams all-purpose flour
  • ½cup/45 grams cocoa powder
  • 2teaspoons baking soda
  • 1teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1teaspoon kosher salt
  • cup/65 grams granulated sugar
  • ½cup/120 milliliters molasses
  • 1large egg
  • Sanding, Demerara or granulated sugar, for decoration

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Nutritional analysis per serving (40 servings)

62 calories; 3 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 1 gram monounsaturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 9 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 5 grams sugars; 1 gram protein; 67 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Chocolate-Molasses Cookies Recipe (2)

Preparation

  1. Step

    1

    Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

  2. Step

    2

    Melt butter in a small pot over medium heat and add ginger, if using. Remove from heat and let sit a few minutes while you prepare everything else.

  3. Step

    3

    In a large bowl, whisk flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ground ginger and salt.

  4. Step

    4

    In a medium bowl, whisk together sugar, molasses, egg and ginger butter. Using a spatula, slowly mix into dry ingredients, mixing until no dry spots remain.

  5. Step

    5

    Using your hands, roll small balls of dough about the size of a quarter (dough will be soft — if it is too soft for you to handle, pop into the fridge for a few minutes to firm up). Roll the balls in the sanding sugar and place on the prepared baking sheets about 1-inch apart.

  6. Step

    6

    Bake until just puffed and baked through, 6 to 8 minutes. Let cool completely before eating.

Tip

  • Cookies can be baked 2 days ahead, stored wrapped tightly at room temperature.

Ratings

4

out of 5

1,813

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Private Notes

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Cooking Notes

Debi Simons

Why oh why do people have you melt butter in a pot on the stove? Just put the butter into the (microwave-safe) mixing bowl you're going to use for the rest of the wet ingredients and do 1 1/2 minutes on 50% power to melt your butter--then check, as you may need 15-30 seconds more. Let the butter cool a bit while you mix up the dry ingredients, then proceed with the recipe, just adding the wet ingredients to the butter. This technique saves you a dirty pot, and all of your butter gets used.

Jean Sramek

The two forms of ginger will complement each other. I'd even go a step further and add finely chopped candied ginger.

Rdowning

Alison Roman mentions fresh ginger in the description but the recipe calls for ground ginger. Any thoughts?

April Vigardt

Used 1 cup flour and 1 cup almond flour, coconut sugar instead of white sugar and 1/2 cup coconut oil instead of 1/2 cup butter. I really liked the way they came out. Not too sweet, a little crust on the outside but soft in the middle. I don't have anything against sugar and butter but was trying to replicate a chocolate almond flour cookie I've lost the recipe for. This got pretty close.

Peter McConnell

“One-bowl dough” = one small pot, one medium bowl, and one large bowl...?

Marianne

Please a amend the bit in the recipe about the size that the balls of dough should be with (even just) an approximate measurement in inches, as neither the whole world (nor New York Times readers the world over and certainly not this one in Johannesburg, South Africa) know the size of a quarter.

maxcan

Please, would it hurt to give all ingredients in grams? 1/2 cup molasses = 170 grams. Saving on clean-up time and no waste of molasses. Measuring out 120 milliliters is no different than measuring out 1/2 cup.

Miguel

use both....grated fresh in the butter, and ground ginger in the mixed dry ingredients.These are good.

Rick

These turned out very nicely indeed. I think the next batch, though, will have a tablespoon or so of instant espresso powder in the mix and just a little less salt than called for.

JillR

If you used regular salt instead of the recommended kosher, your cookies will be too salty. The dough was sticky, but put in fridge for about 1/2 hour and then used small scoop to make walnut size balls and dropped them directly into turbinado sugar to coat.

cindy rose

what type of molasses was used, blackstrap or sorghum?

Su

The recipe will work with either natural or Dutched cocoa, since the molasses is acidic enough to react with the baking soda. Dutched will give you a darker and smoother result that I suspect would be ideal here, but using natural cocoa shouldn't be a deal-breaker.

vaer

in step 2 add fresh ginger to butter if using. in step 3 add the ground ginger to the other dry ingredients.

Joanna

I just made these, and they’re divine. In my opinion, the fresh ginger is not optional. Mmmm!

Seve Johnston

I made this recipe with no changes, they looked great, have a nice texture, but no one in my cookie loving family likes them; I can't give them away! The cocoa, molasses, ginger combo didn't work for us.

Lisa

these are my new favorite cookies! Be sure to add all the fresh ginger. Only modifications: grated zest from an orange and bittersweet chocolate chips. Make bite size as they are intense. As others have said, important to chill the dough. I skipped rolling them in sugar, no need.

janice c

The chocolate overpowered the molasses, ginger and spice flavor, which is what I was really after. If I want a chocolate cookie, I’ll make this again. In the meantime, I’ll keep looking for the best recipe for molasses / ginger cookies.

Alex C.

Agreed! The ginger came across as quite subtle, which surprised me as I used both ground ginger and grated. This recipe could certainly use more of it. The texture of the cookie is also surprisingly soft/crumbly, making it a bit of a nuisance to eat on its own, but perfect for crumbling over ice cream and sundaes.

Andrew M.

Made these using pomegranate molasses for a complex, delightfully tart flavor that paired well with the chocolate. I cut the fresh ginger and added a touch of cardamom and freshly cracked black pepper. Based on other notes, I chose to reduce the baking soda slightly. I opted to use a 1oz cookie scoop and baked these for 10 mins in total, rotating the baking sheets midway through. Cakey with a bit of gooey on top. So good!

Vittoria

These were delicious! Very easy recipe and I love how they’re not overly sweet. The only thing I would change next time is to not roll in sugar, I didn’t care for the crunch of the sugar - but that’s just me, everyone else loved them. I’d also try next time with a bit of black pepper or cayenne added for a bit extra kick!

JD

Added 1 T candied ginger, 1 tsp ground ginger, and 1 T chopped fresh ginger….needs more of all. Also needed to cook closer to 15 minutes to be baked

Pamela Budner

This is a perfect cookie. Easy to make, rich and tasty. Try one crumbled over some whole milk vanilla yogurt or vanilla ice cream, topped with a few raspberries. Instant fancy dessert.

Cdud

I make these every Christmas and they’re always a hit. Maybe it’s baking at over 5,000 feet but mine always come out puffier than pictured. I split the batch and add a half tablespoon of Chimayo red chile to one batch for a brush heat in addition to that the ginger provides.

Alison M

I thought these were alright but nothing special. They'll get eaten, but with nearly infinite cookie recipes available, I probably won't make them again. They weren't very chocolate-y or spicy, even with the fresh ginger. I used the listed amount of Diamond Crystal kosher salt and they were not too salty. I suspect people having an issue may be using Morton's or table salt. I used a #70 cookie scoop and actually got exactly 40 cookies.

Margaret

These cookies are really good, for sure. But they're confusing. I love ginger cookies, and I love chocolate cookies, but the combination makes me want one or the other. I think - even though these are excellent - I'd actually rather just make Alison's ginger-molasses cookies, AND some smitten kitchen intensely chocolate sables. That way I'd have a pure chocolate cookie and a pure ginger cookie.

Laura

These are wonderful! I ran out of molasses and topped off with honey. Still amazing!

kristen

I always use spelt flour in place of all-purpose and it never fails. Also used brown sugar. An easy recipe with delicious results. Not too sweet, just deep chocolatey flavor. Oh, I also added 1/2 cup of choc chips.

Rose K.

Save trouble and a bowl or two - First, melt and cool the butter in a heatproof bowl then mix the wet ingredients into same bowl, then dump the dry stuff* on top and mix. * measure the baking soda into a fine strainer to avoid those weird lumps.

Sally Satel

Came out perfectly. Roll in red and green sanding sugar for the Holiday Season. Will tryincluding grated candied ginger in the batter next time.

DrPam

Tasty. And the ingredients are actually pretty healthy for a cookie!To Consider:I would try adding more butter next time. Maybe 2/3 cup instead of 1/2?Thoughts anyone?

Alicia Sokol

Blackstrap molasses is much too strong for this cookie. The cocoa and the molasses are fighting. If I make these again, I’ll use sorghum. I wish the recipe would have specified this distinction.

EM

The recipe does not specify blackstrap, which is rarely used in baking. Light molasses would be appropriate, and perhaps this should be specified.

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Chocolate-Molasses Cookies Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What happens if you add too much molasses to cookies? ›

Doubling up on molasses softened the cookies significantly.

Molasses is also extremely dark in color, so this batch of cookies turned out to be a deep brown.

What is the secret to moist cookies? ›

Cornstarch helps product soft and thick cookies. Using more brown sugar than white sugar results in a moister, softer cookie. An extra egg yolk increases chewiness. Rolling the cookie dough balls to be tall and lumpy instead of wide and smooth gives the cookies a bakery-style textured thickness.

Why didn't my molasses cookies crack? ›

Why don't my molasses cookies crack? Molasses cookie dough won't have those signature cracks on top if the dough is too wet. The cracks happen when the surface of the dough dries up. Rolling in sugar really helps this because the sugar binds the moisture and dries out the dough.

Why are my molasses cookies so hard? ›

Form balls and roll in sugar: Just like snickerdoodles these cookies are rolled in granulated sugar before baking. Bake soft molasses cookies on a cookie sheet for 8-10 minutes. It's very important to not over bake the cookies or they will be hard and dry instead of soft and chewy.

How to tell when molasses cookies are done? ›

Easy to Notice Signs:
  1. Golden Brown Edges – Check the edges of the cookies for a golden brown colour. This indicates that the cookies have caramelized and are likely done. ...
  2. Set Centres – Gently touch the centre of a cookie. ...
  3. Light Cracking – Look for light cracks on the surface of the cookies.
Oct 18, 2023

How much molasses to add to sugar? ›

Light brown sugar: Use 1 tablespoon molasses for every 1 cup sugar. Dark brown sugar: Use 2 tablespoons molasses for every 1 cup sugar.

What is the secret ingredient to keep cookies soft? ›

Light corn syrup is another ingredient that you can add to cookie dough that will help it stay softer longer. The corn syrup you buy at the grocery store is not the high-fructose corn syrup that soft drinks are made with; it's a sugar that is liquid at room temperature and helps other sugars say liquid at high heat.

How can I make my cookies fluffier instead of flat? ›

Try using baking powder instead of baking soda. Baking soda encourages spreading while baking powder puffs the cookies up. If your recipe calls for 1 teaspoon of baking soda, you would use 3 to 4 teaspoons of baking powder. Caution: This could result in an unwanted flavor shift.

Should I use baking soda or baking powder in cookies? ›

Baking soda is typically used for chewy cookies, while baking powder is generally used for light and airy cookies. Since baking powder is comprised of a number of ingredients (baking soda, cream of tartar, cornstarch, etc.), using it instead of pure baking soda will affect the taste of your cookies.

What kind of molasses is best for baking? ›

Light, unsulfured molasses is the best unless the recipe specifically calls for one of the other two. They all work just fine, so it's up to your preference. For a traditional molasses flavor use the blackstrap.

Why are my molasses cookies cakey? ›

Baking powder or flour in excess will cause cookies to rise more, making them more fluffy and cakey. Increased sugar will make them caramelize more and increased fat will make the dough heavier and richer, all increasing retention of water in the dough- these all add up to chewier cookies.

Why are my molasses cookies so flat? ›

The Problem: Your Oven Is Too Hot

If your cookies repeatedly turn out flat, no matter the recipe, chances are your oven is too hot. Here's what's happening. The butter melts super quickly in a too-hot oven before the other ingredients have firmed up into a cookie structure.

Which molasses is best for cookies? ›

Light molasses is the sweetest and mildest out of the bunch because it is made from the first boiling cycle,” she said. “I like to use this type of molasses because it adds moisture to cookies, resulting in a soft and chewy texture.”

How to get cracks in molasses cookies? ›

Use fresh baking soda.

The baking soda causes the cookies to rise in the oven, then deflate slightly as they cool. This is what causes the cracks to form. If the baking soda is too old, it won't serve that purpose.

Why are my molasses cookies bitter? ›

Use an unsulphered molasses, like Grandma's brand (pictured above) or Brer Rabbit “Full Flavor”. Avoid blackstrap molasses–it's too strong for this recipe and will make the cookies bitter.

How do you neutralize molasses flavor? ›

Naturally acidic molasses may require the addition of baking soda to counteract it in some baked goods.

Why did my molasses cookies come out flat? ›

OVEN IS TOO HOT

If your cookies consistently come out flat, you may have selected the wrong baking temperature. If you bake cookies using too much heat, the fats in the dough begin to melt before the other ingredients can cook together and form your cookie's rise.

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