Soft and chewy Molasses Cookie recipe baked as Molasses thumbprint cookies. You'll love their soft and puffy texture filled with heart warming flavors!
Try my tri-flavored Neapolitan Cookies next! Oh and you can miss these Sprinkles coated Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies this season!!! Craving for more cookie recipes? I got ya! Find all my Easy Christmas Dessert recipes here.
So what kind of person are you? Oh my Gosh I am not judging you or anything! What I am trying to ask is-
- Are you a Soft Molasses Cookies loving person?
- Or thin and crispy molasses cookie adorer is more you?
- Or you enjoy Chewy Molasses Cookies? The cookie you see here today are incredibly THICK and super SOFT molasses cookies filled with winter spices and paired with robust molasses flavors. (I secretly wish this one is you! ;))Oh and there is a hint of chocolate and a slight crunch from festive sprinkles on each cookie!
If you are still reading (yay!), you are just like me! Lets quickly see how to bring these shiny Christmas Cookies together.
Chewy molasses cookie recipe ingredients
- Butter: Always use room temp butter. But don't let it turn all greasy before you begin beating it. My number 1 trick to bake T-H-I-C-K Cookies.
- Brown Sugar: We are replacing all the granulated sugar in this recipe with brown sugar. Trust me, this step will give you the softest and the chewiest molasses cookies.
- Egg: Like my other small batch recipes this recipe uses half of a large egg. Use the rest half to bake these Easy Sugar Cookies. Hello! It is Christmas. There can never be too many Cookies!
- Molasses: Moisture content in molasses will yield super chewy cookies that will stay soft for days!
- Vanilla and salt: For flavor.
- Leavener: We will use ½ teaspoon of baking soda to lift these cookies.
- Flour: Standard baking stuff, All purpose flour it is!
- Spices: A careful measure and blend of warm spices produces the most flavorsome cookie. We will use ginger, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg to spice them today!
For rolling and filling: Some granulated sugar, melted chocolate and festive non-pareil sprinkles!
Steps to make Chewy molasses cookie recipe
- Beat all the wet ingredients together: Butter, sugar, egg then molasses (in that order).
- Sift dry ingredients over wet: Flour, spices, salt and baking soda.
- Fold and form cookie dough.
- Chill the cookie dough: I refrigerate mine for an hour or two.
- Roll into balls and bake.
- Make an indentation: In the center of cookies as soon as they come outta oven, using a teaspoon.
- Allow the cookies to cool and fill with melted chocolate. If you wish to get a more creative, skip melted chocolate and fill these with Pear Vanilla Jam instead.
- Drizzle with sprinkles while the chocolate is wet.
What kind of molasses do you use for cookies?
I use Dark variety unsulphured molasses to bake my cookies. Stay away from Blackstrap variety as they are quite bitter to taste.
Light molasses will not give that intense flavor you'd like in a molasses cookie, so avoid them too.
What does molasses do in cookies?
Molasses create incredibly chewy and the softest cookies you will ever make. And the best part? Cookies made with molasses stay soft for days!
Is there a difference between molasses and blackstrap molasses?
You bet there is! The sugar content of robust molasses is about 70% and that of blackstrap is about 45% as per Serious Eats.
Also the blackstrap molasses are denser than the regular kind.
Can I use blackstrap molasses in cookies?
I wouldn't recommend it because of its low sugar content.
If you don't care about sprinkles and chocolate filling, these cookies are so good on their own!
More Christmas Cookie recipes for you:
Super thick and soft Choc-Chip Cookies
Small Batch Sugar Cookies in Christmas Stockings shape
Softest PB Cookies that you'll ever bake
Recipe
Chewy Molasses Cookie Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 Tbsp (85 gms) Butter (unsalted, Softened to room temp)
- 6 Tbsp (75 gms) Brown Sugar (I use dark)
- ½ large Egg (see notes on how to measure it)
- 2 ½ Tbsp (52 gms) Molasses (Dark variety, unsulphured)
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- ⅛ teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1 ½ Cups All Purpose Flour
- ¾ teaspoon Cinnamon (Ground)
- 1 teaspoon Ginger (Ground)
- ⅛ teaspoon Cloves (Ground)
- ⅛ teaspoon Nutmeg (Ground)
For Rolling: ¼ Cup Granulated Sugar
For Filling:
- ¼ Cup Melted Chocolate
- 2 tablespoon Non-pareil sprinkles
Instructions
- In a medium bowl beat butter on medium for a minute. Add brown sugar and beat it in till light and fluffy.
- Add egg and vanilla. Beat it in too. Now add in molasses and mix them in.
- Sift all the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, salt and spices) over wet and fold in to combine. Do not overmix. Chill the dough for 2 hours minimum or up to 3 days.
- Roll the cookie dough into 13 round balls and roll them in granulated sugar.
- Place the balls 2 inches apart on a baking tray and stick the tray in the freezer while you preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). This little step ensures super puffy cookies.
- Bake cookies for 9-10 minutes or until their edges are just turning golden. They will look puffy and soft in the center.
- Take the cookies out of oven and right away make an indent in the center using a teaspoon. Allow them to cool completely.
Chocolate Filling:
- Melt ¼ cup of chocolate chunks/chocolate chips. Allow to cool slightly and pour in the indentation of each cookie.
- Quickly, before the chocolate sets, top all the cookies with sprinkles for a festive touch.
Notes
- Store Molasses Cookies at room temp, covered tightly up to 5 days.
- To store leftovers (if any), keep them covered in the refrigerator.
- Baked or unbaked cookie dough can be frozen for 1 ½ months. No need to thaw before baking. Just add a minute or two more to the baking time.
- Thaw baked cookie on counter top for 5-6 hours before serving.
Nutrition
Veronika
These thumbprint molasses cookies look absolutely delicious! They look so festive for the holidays and I'm sure they taste amazing! I think I will make them for my cookie exchange gifts this year!
Marisa F. Stewart
The cookies look so festive I had to make a batch for my holiday cookie tray. They were a huge success. Everyone wanted the recipe -- and I was nice enough to give them your blog address.
Elaine
There is just something absolutely special about these cookies that makes you want to make a big batch of them and enjoy throughout the holiday season!
Amanda
I love molasses cookies, and that chocolate center is the perfect touch. Can't wait to make these over the holidays. Thanks so much for sharing!
Colleen
Yumm, these cookies are a new fave at our house. Thanks for the recipe!
Candice Walker
These cookies are so perfectly chewy! I am such a sucker for molasses cookies, so I knew I had to try these little gems. Will definitely be making them for my cookie exchange this year!
Jen
These look like the perfect addition to my cookie exchange this year!
Ben
Those look so good! Any time you put molasses in anything, it's going to be amazing. I can't wait to make these.
Dannii
Cookies should definitely be chewy and these look delicious.
Tisha
These are great for a cookie exchange or even for your holiday event! YUM!
Erica Schwarz
These cookies are DELICIOUS! Using the molasses and brown sugar gives such great flavor. And I love the little trick of using a measuring spoon to make the indentation. Going to use that when I make thumbprint cookies too.
Erika
These are the perfect holiday cookie. I love molasses.