Molasses Crinkle Cookies

Old Fashioned Molasses Crinkle Cookies are perfectly spiced. They are simply delicious, and great for sharing!

Molasses Crinkle Cookies are the perfect marriage of the classic Crinkle Cookie and Gingersnaps. They are the perfect cookie for adding to holiday plates, or your Christmas Cookie spread!

A classic holiday cookie

I love the snap and seasoning of a good Molasses Cookie. We make ours soft and chewy, which makes them even better!

I thought turning this classic cookie into a Crinkle version would be a fun twist – and boy was it!!

These Molasses Crinkles are rolled in powder sugar to get that nice, sweet coating. The cracks (or crinkles) that form, just make it that much tastier. 😉

The Luna girls get together each Christmas season for a cookie exchange where we swap and fill plates with our Christmas treats, to deliver to friends and neighbors. These Molasses Crinkle Cookies are a perfect addition!

Chewy molasses crinkle cookies

WET INGREDIENTS. In a stand mixer, cream together the butter and brown sugar. Add the egg and molasses, mix until combined.

DRY INGREDIENTS. In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, salt, cloves, cinnamon and ginger.

COMBINE + CHILL. Add to the wet ingredients, and mix until smooth. Cover and chill for 2 hours.

PREP. Preheat oven to 350°F.

COAT. Scoop dough using a medium (I used a 1½ tablespoon size) cookie scoop, and roll into balls. Roll in bowl of powdered sugar and set on a lightly greased cookie sheet.

BAKE + ENJOY! Bake for 8-10 minutes. Let cool for a minute before moving to a wire rack.

Recipe tips

Molasses. The molasses in these cookies makes them so soft and chewy. There are varying types of molasses: lighter molasses to blackstrap molasses. Blackstrap molasses can be quite intense, so stick to the lighter molasses, or dark molasses.

Molasses is thick and sticky. Spray your measuring cup with cooking spray to help it pour out easier. 

How to tell when they’re done. Make similar sized dough balls so they cook at an even rate. Using a cookie scoop will make this easier. When they are done, they will start to crack on top. Leave them on the cookie sheet for a minute or two, finish cooling on a wire rack.

No cracks on top. The cracks are formed when the outer part of the dough cooks quickly. As the middle of the cookie bakes, it continues to expand, which then cracks the hardened crust. There are a few factors that cause the cracks.

• One of the reasons that you need to chill the dough is that it makes it easier to roll. Warmer dough gets too sticky. The second reason is so that they don’t spread flat while baking. Third, cold dough will bake first on the outside and then in the center. Cover and store dough in the fridge whenever needed, to keep the dough cold.  
• Cream the butter and sugar thoroughly. This will add a lot of air in the dough which rises while baking, causing the crust to crack. However, do not over mix the dough once you have added the dry ingredients. Not only does it overwork the gluten, it can release the air you added while creaming. 
• Be sure the oven is preheated to the correct temperature. It needs to be hot enough to bake the outside, then slowly bake the center.

Variations

• Replace the cloves, cinnamon and ginger with an equal amount of Pumpkin Pie Spice. 
• Make mini molasses cookies, or larger ones, according to the size of the dough balls. Add more bake time for large cookies and less time for smaller cookies. 
• Add white chocolate: add white chips to the tops, dip them halfway in white chocolate, or add a white chocolate drizzle to the tops.
• Make Molasses Blossoms by adding a Hershey Kiss to the top, after they have baked.

Storing info

STORE cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 4-5 days. Add a piece of white bread to the container to help them stay soft and chewy.

FREEZE baked cookies for about 4 months. I like to place a couple of cookies in a fold top sandwich bag, then put them together in a Freezer Ziploc. This makes it really easy to grab a baggie and put in lunch boxes, or my day bag, for later. 

FREEZE the dough. Freeze the dough in a large log, or shaped into dough balls. Either way, don’t roll them in the powdered sugar before freezing. 

• Log form– wrap it tightly with plastic wrap, and again with foil. 
• Dough balls– shape the dough into balls, place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and put them in the freezer. Once solid, transfer them to a freezer safe container. 

When you’re ready to bake, let the dough thaw. If needed, shape them into balls, then roll in sugar before baking.

More holiday perfect cookies:

These are a few of our favorites to add to holiday plates, or to serve to friends and family!

• Meringue Cookies
• Crinkle Cookies
• Snowball Cookies
• Gooey Rolo Cookies
• Spritz Cookies
• Chewy Molasses Cookies