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Soft Molasses Cookies

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  • Prep 40 min
  • Total 60 min
  • Servings 24
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Ginger molasses cookies are a classic holiday cookie that has been enjoyed by generations of home cooks, and now you! We took that classic spiced cookie recipe, with ginger, cinnamon and cloves and perfected it to make the best ginger molasses cookies we have ever tasted. These are baked with a soft center and a slightly crispy crunch on the outside, and dipped in sugar to give it a sweet finish. Enjoy making memories with family and friends while devouring a batch of these soft molasses cookies during the holidays or bake them whenever you just need a batch of cozy and sweet spiced cookies regardless of the season.
By Betty Crocker Kitchens
Updated Sep 14, 2020
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Ingredients

  • 1 cup packed brown sugar
  • 3/4 cup shortening
  • 1/4 cup molasses
  • 1 egg
  • 2 1/4 cups Gold Medal™ all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
Make With
Gold Medal Flour

Steps

  • 1
    Heat oven to 325°F. In large bowl, beat brown sugar, shortening, molasses and egg with electric mixer on medium speed, or mix with spoon. Stir in remaining ingredients except granulated sugar.
  • 2
    Shape dough by rounded tablespoonfuls into 1 1/2-inch balls. Dip tops into granulated sugar. On ungreased cookie sheet, place balls, sugared sides up, about 2 inches apart.
  • 3
    Bake 13 to 16 minutes or just until set and cookies appear dry. Immediately remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack.

Tips from the Betty Crocker Kitchens

  • tip 1
    Adding one egg at a time, thoroughly beating each one in before adding the next one. This allows the creamed shortening/sugar to retain the trapped air beaten in when the fat and sugar are creamed together.
  • tip 2
    Purchase shortening formed in oblong packages marked for easy cutting and measuring. It eliminates messy measuring in cups.
  • tip 3
    There are reasons for using shortening versus butter when mixing up a cookie dough. Shortening has a higher melting point, so cookies will hold their shape longer in the oven before the fat melts in the dough (and shortening doesn’t release any steam like butter) so results in moist, chewy cookies. While butter melts more quickly and releases some steam so that cookies will spread more and be crisper, with a distinctly buttery flavor. Some recipes use a combination of the two fats.
  • tip 4
    There is enough fat in these tender cookies that they won’t stick to the baking sheets. But for easier clean-up, line the baking sheets with baking parchment. The parchment can be used several times before composting or recycling it.
  • tip 5
    What type of molasses should you keep in your pantry? Choices include light, cooking, unsulphured and blackstrap. Each style is a by-product of the sugar making process and offer mild to robust levels of flavor in baked goods. A good all-purpose molasses is an unsulphured one, made from sun-ripened sugar cane; it has a full, smooth flavor without being bitter.
  • tip 6
    Measuring flour acccurately is key in baking. Stir flour a bit before spooning into measuring cup then level off top using a flat-edge utensil such as a knife.
  • tip 7
    Spray the inside of the measuring cup with cooking spray so molasses will slide out of the cup easily.

Nutrition

160 Calories, 7g Total Fat, 1g Protein, 22g Total Carbohydrate, 12g Sugars

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size: 1 Cookie
Calories
160
Calories from Fat
60
Total Fat
7g
10%
Saturated Fat
1 1/2g
8%
Trans Fat
1g
Cholesterol
10mg
3%
Sodium
135mg
6%
Potassium
100mg
3%
Total Carbohydrate
22g
7%
Dietary Fiber
0g
0%
Sugars
12g
Protein
1g
% Daily Value*:
Vitamin A
0%
0%
Vitamin C
0%
0%
Calcium
0%
0%
Iron
6%
6%
Exchanges:
1/2 Starch; 0 Fruit; 1 Other Carbohydrate; 0 Skim Milk; 0 Low-Fat Milk; 0 Milk; 0 Vegetable; 0 Very Lean Meat; 0 Lean Meat; 0 High-Fat Meat; 1 1/2 Fat;
Carbohydrate Choice
1 1/2
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

More About This Recipe

  • These classic treats are all about nostalgia. Just biting into one of these soft molasses cookies evokes images of crisp days, warm fires and cookie jars filled with home-baked goodies. If you’ve always wondered about the difference between molasses cookies and gingersnap cookies, it’s all just a matter of texture. Gingersnaps are crisper in texture and will “snap” if bent. Molasses cookies are soft, bendable—and equally delicious. Your choice of decoration is purely a matter of personal preference. The cookies are delicious with just their coating of sugar, or you can try a drizzle of white chocolate or a covering of rich, creamy Betty Crocker™ Rich & Creamy vanilla frosting. Sprinkles? Why not? After making a batch of these soft molasses cookies, you may be inspired to find some new varieties.
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