Why You’ll Love These
This vintage molasses cookie recipe produces soft and chewy cookies with the perfect warm spices you want from a molasses cookie.These are grandma’s old-fashioned molasses cookies, you remember! This recipe makes 50 cookies! Great for gifting to friends and neighbors during the holidays.
I have been making these for years, and they are always expected to be on our holiday cookie tray. They are easy to make and always devoured. If you love the traditional spices of the holidays, try our gingerbread cookies, gingerbread biscotti, spicy gingerbread loaf, and gingerbread.
Key Ingredients
Molasses – Molasses can vary in flavor and intensity. Look for fancy molasses. For these cookies, we recommend the brand Grandma’s Original Molasses (dark molasses). I have used blackstrap molasses, but that’s just me (I like a strong flavor). It’s a stronger, more robust flavor but can also be a little bitter.Shortening – Yes, shortening! This is an old recipe; they used shortening (lard) because it was cheaper. I have used butter, and it’s just not the same cookie. The texture and structure are different when using butter.Spices – The combination of cloves, ginger, and cinnamon is perfect for us. Some people are sensitive to ground cloves and think they can be too strong. Feel free to adjust to your taste.
How to Make Old Fashioned Molasses Cookies
Whisk the flour, cloves, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in a medium-size bowl, and set aside. Mix the sugar, molasses, eggs, and shortening together in a large bowl. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and combine with a wooden spoon. Refrigerate the dough for at least 1 hour up to overnight. Refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours up to overnight. I usually do it overnight. The flavors really develop. Preheat the oven to 375F. Prepare your baking sheets with parchment paper. Roll the chilled dough into tablespoon-size balls, and dip one side into granulated sugar. Place the dough balls about 2″ apart on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 8 – 10 minutes. Rotate racks if placing more than one baking sheet at a time in the oven. Let cool for 2 minutes on the pan, then move to a wire rack to cool completely. My family claims these cookies to be quite addictive, so beware! Store in an airtight container. This is a great recipe for that cookie swap during the holidays!
Tips
Let the shortening cool enough that it won’t curdle the eggs.When measuring the molasses, spray the measuring cup with non-stick cooking spray, so the molasses pours out easily.DO NOT skip chilling the dough! A minimum of 2 hours is absolutely necessary for these cookies not to spread too much during baking.Use a cookie scoop to ensure the dough balls are the same size for even baking. Do not overbake. The cookies will puff up in the center when baking. As soon as they begin to crack and the edges are set, remove them from the oven. As they cool, they deflate and crisp up more around the edges.Let cool for at least 10 minutes. You want to allow time for those cracks and crevices to settle and for the centers to bake fully.
