Are you ready for the best ever Christmas cookie? This cookie melts on your tongue and I swear it whispers Jingle Bells while it does.
I consider these cookies my signature Christmas cookie. I bake them at least twice throughout Christmas and well into the year afterwards as well. I'm a fan of any cookie recipe that uses molasses. It reminds me of the pioneer days when many kitchens used molasses because regular sugar wasn't as easily come by and generally cost more.
Molasses Sugar Cookie Recipe
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup softened butter
- 1/2 cup sugar I use organic raw evaporated cane juice, raw sugar, erythritol, or coconut palm sugar all work
- 1/2 cup brown sugar make homemade brown sugar here in less than 1 minute
- Note: You can also use 1 cup regular sugar but I like the addition of the brown sugar as it keeps cookies super duper moist
- 1/4 cup dark molasses I get mine from a big ol' vat at our local co-op
- 1 egg thank you to my little faithful flock, farm fresh is best
- 2 cups flour I used 1/2 spelt and 1/2 soft white wheat freshly ground
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
Instructions
- In a large bowl beat together the butter and sugar until creamy. Add molasses and egg, beating until well blended.
- In medium bowl, blend flour, soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger; add to molasses mixture, mix well. Cover and chill at least 20 minutes.
- Form dough into 1 inch balls, roll each in sugar, place 2 inches apart on cookie sheet.
- Tip: To make uniform balls that bake evenly, use an ice cream scoop.
- Bake at 375 degrees for 6-8 minutes. Let stand 1 minute before removing. Makes around 5 dozen. (I tend to get 3 dozen, but they're so good I like a bigger cookie)
Notes
To make Gingerbread, just cut 1/4 cup butter and increase the molasses.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
just made your molasses cookies – SENSATIONAL!
Yay!
I didn’t see a print option. Am I missing it? There are so many advertisements and pictures, I hate to print it that way. Thanks…they look delicious! Arla
I just added it for you!
I love your recipes but is molasses the same as black treakle over here in the UK?
These have my mouth watering! Thanks for posting. Just a couple questions. Dark, medium or light molasses? Also, what setting on the Mockmill do you grind the spelt and white wheat?
I use the fine setting for baking and pastry. And I always have dark molasses 🙂
I made vanilla extract on Nov 5. and I just bottled it. But it looks really lite to me, Is this normal or did I screw up somewhere.
Thanks Jennifer Richards
It depends upon the age and grade of your vanilla beans, but I’d recommend a longer seeping time to get a stronger vanilla flavor. It’s not screwed up, just not as strong vanilla flavor.
I love your podcast and I just made these cookies. They are soooo delicious. Going to give them as Christmas presents. My hubby and almost 2-yr old son can’t get enough.
Marlena,
Thank you, I really enjoy doing the podcast too. So happy your family loves these cookies, too.
I use maple sugar in most recipes in place of regular. Do you think it would work as well in this as the sugars you list?
Patti,
I bet it would. I’ve used the evaporated cane juice and white sugar and both do well. I think the maple flavor would be great!
I tried them both ways, first with all maple sugar and then with white sugar and brown sugar. The maple sugar ones held their shape better but weren’t quite as sweet. The others spread out a bit more but they were all very good. I’m about to make a double batch because they were such a hit with everyone. I’m going to use half maple and half brown this time, just to see how they do. Thanks so much for this simple and delicious recipe! It’s going to be a family tradition I’m pretty sure.
I forgot to mention that as soon as I can find some pure ribbon cane syrup, I’m going to use that in place of molasses. I’m pretty certain they’re going to be awesome too.
This very recipe was given to me many years ago, it was my youngest’s paternal grandmother’s signature recipe – as it has now become mine as well. It’s such a good one … a classic! I will be making them in a few days, I know they’ll disappear in a flash.
Thanks for sharing Kim! They do go fast, lol
Would the amount of flour still be 2 cups if using all purpose?
Felicia,
Yes, it’s still 2 cups
[…] Hope you enjoy. Some recipes are classics and I love imagining the pioneers sharing the same dishes we still enjoy today. A lot of my recipes are shared by characters-here’s my molasses sugar cookie recipe. […]
These look really good Melissa! I’ve been thinking about making some Christmas cookies with my daughter. I’ll have to try this.
Keidy, these are great to make w/ kids. My 2 year old was in charge of rolling the balls in the sugar. She also thought every time the oven dinged for each batch that she’d get another cookie. She ended up with two cookies, but then I had to cut her off. 🙂
This sounds like a delectable Christmas treat! My favorite Christmas recipe is for reindeer cookies. You use regular peanut butter cookie batter, and put two balls of dough together like the bottom two sections of a snowman, but upside down. You press down and put two pretzels on the top for antlers, and M&Ms for eyes and nose. (The larger section forms the head, and the smaller section forms the mouth.) Cute!
Laughing because I just pulled the last batch out of the oven and thought, man, if the folks on line could just smell these. 🙂 I try to limit myself, but I’m a definite sweet tooth kind of girl. I had Jillian Michael’s hollering at me from my DVD player to push harder this morning, so I figure I can have one…. or two.
I gave up most sweets years ago, but if I still indulged, I’m sure I’d like these. They look yummy. I can almost smell them baking. =)