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These soft and chewy ginger molasses cookies are my favorite holiday cookie recipe. They have the perfect balance of ginger, cinnamon, and cloves, crinkly sugar-coated tops, and super chewy centers. Best part? These are no chill ginger molasses cookies, so you can go straight from the mixing bowl to the oven. They’re perfect for cookie swaps, holiday gift boxes, and leaving under the chimney for Santa!
Quick Look: Soft and Chewy Ginger Molasses Cookies
- 🍪 What it is: Soft, chewy molasses cookies spiced with ginger, cinnamon, and cloves, then rolled in sugar.
- ⭐ Why it works: Extra baking soda makes them rise, then collapse into those signature crinkles.
- 💛 Why you’ll love it: No chilling needed, so the dough goes straight from the bowl to the oven.
- ⚠️ What to watch for: Fold in the flour gently and stop as soon as it disappears for the chewiest cookies.
- ❄️ Make ahead: Freeze scooped dough balls for up to 3 months, then thaw overnight and bake.
Why This Recipe Works
I’ll be honest, I didn’t think I’d like ginger molasses cookies. Molasses always smelled like licorice to me, and with all the spices it threw me off completely. Then I actually tried them and couldn’t believe my tastebuds! I tested this molasses ginger cookie recipe a few times to get the spice level and texture just right, and now these chewy molasses ginger cookies are at the top of my favorite cookies list. Want to take them up a notch? Sandwich them with a tangy cream cheese filling to make my ginger molasses cookie sandwiches.
- Soft, chewy centers with crispy, crinkly edges
- A balanced mix of ginger, cinnamon, and cloves in every bite
- No chilling required, so you can bake them right away
- The cookie dough and baked cookies both freeze well, so they’re a great make-ahead Christmas cookie
- They pair perfectly with a cup of tea or a gingerbread latte made with homemade gingerbread syrup
Table of Contents
What Is a Ginger Molasses Cookie?
A ginger molasses cookie (some people call them molasses ginger cookies) is a soft and chewy cookie made with molasses and spiced with plenty of ginger. It’s similar to a snickerdoodle in texture, and just like a snickerdoodle, the dough gets rolled in granulated sugar before baking. Ginger snaps, on the other hand, are crispier and usually have a little more ginger.
Ingredients for Chewy Ginger Molasses Cookies
- Butter: A generous amount of softened butter makes these cookies extra rich and chewy.
- Brown sugar and granulated sugar: Using both gives you crispy edges and a super chewy center.
- Molasses: The star ingredient. Use unsulphured molasses. I use Grandma’s brand because it’s the one at my grocery store.
- Egg and vanilla extract: Use one room temperature egg so it mixes in smoothly.
- Flour: All-purpose flour works great.
- Baking soda: It might look like a lot, but the cookies need it to rise and then collapse into those perfect crinkles.
- Ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and salt: These spices balance out perfectly to give you your next favorite holiday cookie.
Full ingredient amounts are in the recipe card below.
Variations
- White chocolate: Dip half of each cookie in melted white chocolate, or drizzle it over the top.
- Cream cheese frosting: Frost the cooled cookies, or sandwich two together for ginger molasses sandwich cookies.
- Extra ginger: Add chopped crystallized ginger to the dough for an extra gingery kick.
- Make it gingerbread: Craving a cookie you can decorate? Try my easy no-spread gingerbread cookies or the Crumbl gingerbread cookies copycat.
How to Make Ginger Molasses Cookies
This ginger molasses cookie recipe makes soft ginger molasses cookies with no chilling! Full measurements and instructions are in the recipe card below.
- Add the butter and sugars. Preheat the oven to 350°F, then add the softened butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar to a large bowl.
- Cream them together. Beat until light and creamy.
- Add the wet ingredients. Add the egg, vanilla extract, and molasses.
- Mix until smooth. Beat again until everything is well combined.
- Add the dry ingredients. Whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt in a separate bowl, then add it to the batter.
- Fold gently. Mix just until the flour disappears. Don’t overmix!
- Scoop the dough. Use a small cookie scoop to portion out even dough balls.
- Roll in sugar. Roll each dough ball in granulated sugar until fully coated.
- Space and bake. Place them at least 1 inch apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes.
- Cool on the pan. Let them cool on the baking sheet for 15 to 20 minutes, then move them to a rack. They firm up as they cool.
Expert Tips
- Don’t overmix. Once the flour goes in, fold just until it disappears for the softest, chewiest cookies.
- Use unsulphured molasses. It has the cleanest, richest flavor for these cookies.
- Trust the baking soda. It looks like a lot, but it’s what gives you the crinkly tops.
- Leave room to spread. Space the dough balls at least 1 inch apart because they will spread!
- Let them cool on the pan. They look soft right out of the oven but keep setting as they cool.
Ginger Molasses Cookie FAQs
Not these! This ginger molasses cookie dough needs no chilling at all. Just scoop, roll in sugar, and bake.
Ginger snaps are crispier and usually have a little more ginger. Ginger molasses cookies are a whole lot chewier, with a soft center and crinkly sugar-coated tops.
Use a dark, unsulphured molasses for ginger molasses cookies. I use Grandma’s brand, which is high quality and easy to find at the grocery store.
Ginger molasses cookies keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Yes! Freeze scooped ginger molasses cookie dough balls on a parchment-lined sheet for 30 minutes, then store them in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw them in the fridge overnight and bake as directed.
More Gingerbread and Molasses Recipes
If you made these ginger molasses cookies, I’d love to hear how they turned out! Leave a ⭐ star rating and a comment below, and tell me who you baked them for. Cheers!!
Soft and chewy molasses ginger cookies (No Chill)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup butter softened
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg at room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup molasses
- 2 & 1/3 cup all purpose flour
- 1 & 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 & 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar for rolling.
Instructions
- First, start by preheating the oven to 350F, then line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ground ginger, ground cloves, and the salt and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until light and creamy. Add in the egg, vanilla extract, and molasses and mix again until well incorporated. Add in the flour mixture and gently fold until the flour disappears completely.
- Using a small cookie scooper, scoop out ginger molasses cookie balls and roll them in the 1/4 cup granulated sugar. Place the cookie dough balls on the prepared baking sheet making sure to leave at least 1-inch of space between each cookie (they will spread!) and bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes.
- Pull the cookies out of the oven and let them cool down on the baking sheet for 15-20 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack. They will be a little bit on the softer side right out of the oven but will continue baking as they cool.
- Serve and enjoy!
Video
Notes
- No chilling needed: This dough goes straight from the bowl to the oven, so you can have warm cookies in under 30 minutes.
- Don’t overmix: Once the flour goes in, fold just until it disappears for the softest, chewiest cookies.
- Cool on the pan: The cookies look soft right out of the oven but keep setting as they cool. Let them rest on the baking sheet for 15 to 20 minutes before moving them.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Delicious! Did a few updates:
1. Rolled cookies into 1inch balls and added 3 small pieces of crystallized ginger per ball.
2. Mixed 3 parts granulated sugar to 1 part brown sugar to roll the balls in. Rolled off excessive and evened out the sugar layer.
Everything else was kept exactly the same. Ended up with 41 cookies which soon became 40 because the 1 must go to the taste tester.
HAHAHA the taste tester always deserves her own 💖
DELICIOUS!!❤️ This is the perfect recipe, I’ve been looking for!
THANK YOU SO MUCH!!☺️
You’re very welcome!
I loved this recipe. I think it’s one of the few times when the yield says 25 cookies, that’s the number you get. This recipe is one of my favorites from my childhood…yours is slightly ditterent and I will continue using it. Seems pretty fool proof. That Ks for sharing.
Thank you so much for giving it a try and I’m glad you enjoyed it!
I did these last Christmas and loved them and so did everyone on my cookie list. Was wondering if I could add a little fresh chopped ginger or would it mess up the whole recipe?
That addition should be just fine and will probably taste delicious!
The flavor was spot-on, just the consistency was a little of what I want in a molasses cookie. It was definitely super soft (they’ll burn on the bottom and the top remains soft) which is good, but it wasn’t very chewy. I was pretty precise about the ingredients that mattered, the only difference made was that I subbed butter for margarine. The dough was pretty soft to roll, but I baked them that way anyway. Basically, it’s good other than that it’s kind of cakey and not as chewy as I wanted. Does anyone know of what makes a cookie chewy?
The margarine will cause the texture issue in your molasses cookies. Margarine has a higher water content than butter, which can affect the texture and consistency of baked goods. Using butter as called for in the recipe could help achieve a chewier texture.
They turned out great. I will be adding them to the yearly Christmas cookie bake list.
That’s awesome!
These cookies look incredible! I was just wondering the correct amount of baking soda for the recipe. The US Customary states 1 3/4 tsp baking soda and the Metric measurement states 2 tsp. Looking forward to making these cookies!
Thank you for catching that! It’s been fixed 🙂
These are the best molasses cookies. Made today and they are the best. I will be making these all the time done. No changes.
Thanks Alice!
These are my new favorite ginger molasses cookies. I’ve made them a few times this holiday season as gifts and they are perfect!
They’re honestly one of my favorites as well! My family was obsessed with them when we made them! Glad you enjoyed 🙂