Soft Chewy Molasses Cookies — Just Like Grandma’s, No Chilling Required
I Couldn’t Wait Until Fall to Make These
These soft chewy molasses cookies taste just like something your grandma would pull out of the oven on a rainy day — warm, spiced, and impossible to stop at one. I usually save them for fall when the cinnamon and cloves feel just right, but the truth is I’d just gotten home from Florida, walked straight into my kitchen, and decided I wasn’t waiting on a season. If a cookie smells this good, summer can have it too.
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Watch me make these molasses cookies from start to finish — or scroll down for the full printable recipe card.
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Soft Chewy Molasses Cookies
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Ingredients
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup salted butter softened
- ¼ cup molasses
- 1 large eggs
- 2 ¼ cups King Arthur all-purpose flour
- 4 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- ½ tsp ground cloves
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- Granulated sugar for coating (optional)
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- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the sugar, butter, and molasses together until smooth.
- Beat in the egg until light and fluffy.
- Mix in the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg until well combined.
- Do not chill the dough — chilling keeps the cookies from spreading into that flat, chewy, crackly texture.
- Using a cookie scoop, scoop the dough and drop each scoop directly into a bowl of sugar. Gently roll to coat — the dough is soft, so be gentle.
- Place on an ungreased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart.
- Bake for 10 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and let the cookies sit on the sheet for about 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Nutrition
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Notes
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Tap the stars above to rate it! This helps other families find it.Why These Molasses Cookies Work
The magic of these molasses cookies is in what you don’t do — you don’t chill the dough. I learned the hard way that chilling makes the dough hold its shape too well, and the cookies come out puffy and pale instead of flat, chewy, and crackly on top. So I skip the fridge completely, scoop the soft dough straight into a bowl of sugar, and let that sugar coating do the work of holding each one together just long enough to get it on the pan. Half the fun is watching the Grandma’s molasses pour in — I could watch that ribbon all day.
We love to vacation in Colonial Williamsburg, and one of the first stops we always make is the little bakery in the historic part of town for one of their giant molasses cookies. These are my version of that memory, scaled down for my own kitchen and my own crowd. If you’ve ever had one, you already know the exact warm, spiced flavor I’m chasing here.
What makes them taste like the holidays no matter the season is the spice blend — cinnamon, ginger, a good half teaspoon of cloves (one of my favorite smells in the whole wide world), and just a quarter teaspoon of nutmeg, because a little dab will do you. If you want to go a little deeper on the molasses-and-spice combination, King Arthur’s soft molasses cookies guide is a lovely read.
A Few Things That Make Molasses Cookies Even Easier
- Whatever you do, don’t chill the dough. I know most cookie recipes tell you to — but chilling is exactly what keeps these from spreading into that flat, chewy cookie with the crackly top. Skip it on purpose.
- Scoop, then drop straight into sugar. The dough is soft and a little sticky without the chill, so I use a cookie scoop and drop each scoop right into a bowl of sugar. Roll it gently to coat — the sugar firms it up just enough to move it to the pan, and it gives you that sparkly crackle.
- Cream the butter, sugar, and molasses well. Make sure your butter is good and soft first, then beat it until it’s smooth and that gorgeous rich brown. I do it by hand with my wooden spoon — when I remember to bring it to the counter, that is.
- Go easy on the nutmeg. A quarter teaspoon is plenty. It’s the little secret that makes people ask what tastes so good, but too much and it takes over — a little dab will do you.
- Pull them at 10 minutes, even if they look underdone. They should look just barely set in the center when they come out. Let them rest on the sheet about five minutes and they’ll finish setting into soft, chewy cookies. Bake them until they look done and they’ll be too crisp.
Molasses Cookies FAQ — The Questions I Get Every Time
What temperature do I bake molasses cookies at?
Bake them at 375°F for about 10 minutes. They’ll look slightly underdone in the center when you pull them, and that’s exactly what you want — let them sit on the sheet for around five minutes and they finish setting into that soft, chewy texture. If you bake until they look fully done, they’ll firm up too much as they cool.
Why shouldn’t I chill the dough?
Chilling makes the dough hold its shape too well, so the cookies stay puffy and pale instead of spreading into flat, chewy rounds with the crackly sugar top. I used to chill mine and could never figure out why they wouldn’t spread — skipping the fridge fixed it. The dough is softer to work with this way, but the cookie scoop and the sugar coating handle that.
What kind of molasses should I use for molasses cookies?
I use Grandma’s Original unsulphured molasses — it’s what you’ll see on my counter in the video. Stick with original (sometimes labeled mild or light) rather than blackstrap, which is much darker and more bitter and can overpower the spices. Robust or full-flavor molasses works if you like a deeper flavor, but original is the cozy, classic taste most people are after.
Can I make the dough ahead of time?
You can, though I almost never do — these come together fast enough that I just make them start to finish. If you want to get ahead, mix the dough, cover it, and keep it at room temperature for a couple of hours before scooping. I’d avoid refrigerating it overnight; cold dough won’t spread the way you want, and that’s the whole point of this recipe.
Can I freeze molasses cookies?
Yes, and they freeze beautifully. Let them cool completely, then layer them in an airtight container with parchment between the layers and freeze for up to three months. They thaw on the counter in under an hour, and a few seconds in the microwave brings back that fresh-from-the-oven softness. They’re sturdy cookies, so they ship and travel well too.
Why did my cookies come out cakey instead of chewy?
Almost always one of two things: the dough got chilled, or there’s a little too much flour. Spoon and level your flour instead of scooping it straight from the canister, which packs in extra. And resist the urge to refrigerate — cakey, puffy cookies are usually cold-dough cookies.
Can I make these into giant bakery-style cookies?
Absolutely — that Colonial Williamsburg cookie is exactly where my head goes. Use a bigger scoop, give them plenty of room on the pan, and add a couple of minutes to the bake. Keep an eye on them and still pull them while the centers look just barely set so they stay chewy in the middle.
The one-minute version, if you just want to watch them come together.
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Ingredients
🌾 Flour: I reach for King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour — shop direct →
Equipment
More Cookies & Bars You’ll Love
- Mama’s Peanut Butter Crisscross Cookies — one bowl, fork crisscross, ten minutes in the oven. Crispy edges, chewy centers.
- Chewy Oatmeal Cookie Bars — my mom’s ancient recipe and my most requested cookie of all time.
- No Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies — one pot, no oven, done before the kids stop complaining.
- Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars — all the chocolate chip cookie flavor in an easy one-pan bar for a crowd.
- Grandma Memaw’s Lemon Bars — the family recipe I kept by hand for 33 years before sharing it.
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Molasses Cookies — About Stephanie’s Recipes
Stephanie Longstreth is the home cook, mom, and storyteller behind StephanieCooksForACrowd.com. She cooks for a family of seven in Florida — five kids, two cats, and one husband who appreciates a good meal. Four of her children came home through adoption, and family stories are woven into everything she makes and shares. Find her crowd-friendly recipes, weekly meal plans, and real family life on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and Pinterest @stephaniecooksforacrowd.