Get the Recipe: Old Fashioned Molasses Cookies
These big and soft, old-fashioned molasses cookies are both delicious and easy. These cookies bake up nice and thick, are wonderfully soft and chewy and with just the right amount of warm spices.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup (57 g) butter, salted or unsalted, at room temperature
- 1/4 cup (48 g) vegetable shortening, *see Note 1 below
- 3/4 cup (138 g) white granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup (55 ml) light, un-sulphured "Fancy" molasses
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 2 1/4 cups (286 g) all-purpose flour, spooned and levelled
- 1 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon salt, add a pinch more is using unsalted butter
To roll cookies before baking:
- white granulated sugar, for coating cookies (about 1/4 cup)
Instructions
- Tip! If you have a kitchen scale, I highly recommend using the weight measurements provided for the best, most consistent results. If you don't have a scale, be sure to measure the flour with the spoon and level method.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl with an electric mixer or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the shortening, softened butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes at medium speed. Add the egg and molasses and beat in until smooth and creamy.
- Add the flour mixture and mix on low until the mixture comes together as a moist dough. Remove dough to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours.
- Preheat oven to 350F (non-convection/not fan-assisted).
- Using a cookie scoop or a tablespoon measure, take a scoop of the dough and form into a 1 1/2-inch diameter ball (check the size of the first one and then make the remaining ones the same size). Roll the ball in white granulated sugar and place onto an un-greased baking or cookie sheet about 3 inches apart. Repeat forming balls and rolling in sugar until your baking sheet is full. Cover and refrigerate any remaining dough to make another batch later.
- Bake in preheat oven for about 14-15 minutes. Cookies will look puffy, but will deflate as they cool. Remove from oven, let stand about 1 minute, then carefully transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Cookies should not have spread much, should be thick, and the inside should be dry and set. If the centre of the cookie is moist, adjust the baking time, adding more time as necessary.
Notes
Note 1: I highly recommend using the mixture of butter and vegetable shortening for these cookies. The shortening contributes to nice, soft and thick cookies, while the butter brings in some nice flavour. If you don't have shortening, you can use all butter, in the same amount, though the texture of the cookie will be slightly different. Likewise, you could use all shortening here, though it will affect the flavour slightly.
Cookie tips!
Be sure to keep your cookies the same size, so they will bake evenly. You can use a scale if you like.
The baking time is for the size of cookies as specified (1 1/2-inches diameter). If you make smaller cookies, you'll want to adjust the baking time down accordingly.
Oven and baking pans vary from kitchen to kitchen, so the baking time in your oven may vary a minute or so one way or the other. To be sure you get perfect cookies, consider baking a "test cookie" for the recommended time, allow to cool and taste. The cookie should be soft (not crispy), and the inside of the cookie should be set and light. Adjust baking time for the rest of the cookies up or down slightly, as needed.
Cookie troubleshooting
The cookies should be soft and not crispy. If crispy at all, reduce the baking time.
If the cookies spread too much and are thin and crispy, the dough needs more flour.
If the cookies don't spread properly, the dough has too much flour.
Be sure to read the notes above this Recipe Card for more tips on making this recipe. You'll also find step-by-step photos there, as well.
Serving: 1serving, Calories: 149kcal, Carbohydrates: 23g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 6g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 2g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 17mg, Sodium: 130mg, Potassium: 91mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 12g, Vitamin A: 94IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 15mg, Iron: 1mg
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