Have these no-chill molasses spice cookies ready from start to finish in just half an hour! Warming spices (cinnamon, cardamom, and ginger), fancy molasses, and a coating of sparkling sugar make these cookies something special. These are a wee bit cakier than some cookies but meant to be.
For some more recipes featuring molasses as an ingredient, try these chewy ginger molasses cookies, a gluten-free and vegan gingerbread cake, or warming gingerbread syrup.
Ingredients
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Molasses: make sure you're using regular or fancy molasses, not blackstrap.
- Spices: substitute any blend of warming spices you like - allspice, cloves, nutmeg, and even some black pepper are all terrific.
- Sanding sugar: if you don't have sanding sugar or a coarse sugar, you can roll the cookie dough balls in regular white sugar or skip this step.
- Make it dairy-free: use a high-quality vegan butter than comes in stick or block form. As it melts at a lower temperature, you might want to chill the dough for half an hour before baking if you go this route.
Use the JUMP TO RECIPE button at the top, or scroll to the bottom of the post to see the printable recipe card with full ingredient measurements and complete instructions.
Method
Step 1: cream the butter and sugar, then beat in the egg and molasses.
Step 2: mix in the flour and other dry ingredients.
Step 3: roll the dough into balls and coat in sanding sugar.
Step 4: bake for about 12 minutes and cool before serving.
Top Tips
- Use two sheets: this recipe makes about 18 cookies, so either have two baking sheets ready, or bake them in two batches. You can also have the recipe using the slider function in the recipe card (reduce it to 9).
- The dough is stiff: since this is a no-chill recipe, the dough will be a little stiffer than something like a chocolate chip cookie. You need to be able to roll it rather than using a cookie scoop.
- Avoid over-mixing: if the butter mixture is creamed for too long, the cookies will turn out more cakey. If it's mixed too long after adding the flour, they'll be tough.
How to Store
Storage: keep the cookies in a sealed container at room temperature for up to 5 days. They're best fresh.
Freezing: transfer fully cooled cookies to an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature before serving.
Recipe Notes
You'll need fancy molasses for these cookies. If you ever see a baking recipe calling for blackstrap molasses, skip it. Blackstrap isn't sweet at all - it's very bitter - and is more often used for recipes like baked beans, BBQ sauce, or for medicinal uses like as a way to get more iron into your diet. It should never be used in cookies or cakes.
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Molasses Spice Cookies
Equipment
- Measuring cups and spoons or a digital kitchen scale
- 2 baking sheets
- Mixing bowl
- Hand mixer
- Wire rack
- Spatula
Ingredients
- ¾ cups butter, softened
- ¾ cups sugar
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- ¼ cup molasses
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ½ teaspoon ginger
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup sanding sugar, optional, for rolling
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180ºC) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar together until soft and creamy, about 3 minutes.¾ cups butter, ¾ cups sugar
- Add the egg and molasses to the butter mixture and continue to beat until well combined.1 large egg, ¼ cup molasses
- Add in the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, cardamom, and ginger and mix everything together until well incorporated.2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground cardamom, ½ teaspoon ginger, ½ teaspoon salt
- Use your hands to scoop the dough into portions approximately 2 tablespoons in size.
- Roll each portion into a smooth ball, then roll each ball in sanding sugar to coat (if using).½ cup sanding sugar
- Place the sugared dough balls on the prepared baking sheet, evenly spaced apart.
- Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 12 to 14 minutes, or until they are puffy and the edges are slightly golden.
- Transfer the sheet to a wire rack and cool the cookies for 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
- Use two sheets: this recipe makes about 18 cookies, so either have two baking sheets ready, or bake them in two batches. You can also have the recipe using the slider function in the recipe card (reduce it to 9).
- The dough is stiff: since this is a no-chill recipe, the dough will be a little stiffer than something like a chocolate chip cookie. You need to be able to roll it rather than using a cookie scoop.
- Avoid over-mixing: if the butter mixture is creamed for too long, the cookies will turn out more cakey. If it's mixed too long after adding the flour, they'll be tough.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is an estimate and is provided as a courtesy. For precise nutritional data, please calculate it independently using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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