Do you enjoy the flavors of a gingersnap but prefer a soft and chewy cookie? My Ginger Molasses Cookies are the answer.

Chewy Ginger Molasses Cookies on a baking sheet, on a marble surface next to a glass of milk.

How to make a chewy cookie

If you’re anything like me, you love the spices and molasses flavor of a gingersnap, but typically prefer to eat a fat, soft and chewy cookie. If that’s the case, I got you covered.

The molasses and light brown sugar in this cookie provide moisture which helps keep these cookies chewy.

Shaping and chilling the dough, however, are the most crucial steps in creating chewy cookies. Domed shaped dough balls tend to bake into thick cookies. For this recipe, the dough must be chilled to maintain a thick cookie shape.

If your dough is room temperature, these cookies will spread. A thinner cookie will cook more on the inside, making it dryer and less soft and chewy.

Step by step process of making ginger molasses cookies: mix dry ingredients, cream butter and sugar, add eggs and molasses, mix wet and dry, form into cookies and roll in sugar.

Variations

Use a glaze. These cookies are also delicious glazed. My original recipe for these bad boys did not involve rolling them in sugar. I baked them plain and made a Bourbon Vanilla Glaze. A Lemon Glaze would also be delicious. Check out my recipe notes for more details!
Add more ginger. For an extra punch of ginger, finely chop a few tablespoons of candied ginger and fold it into the dough.
Add bread flour. For an even chewier cookie, add some bread flour. I had such a hard time deciding which version of this recipe I liked best, so I included by notes on using part all-purpose and part bread flour in the recipe card.

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Chewy Ginger Molasses Cookies

Author: Sabrina Russo
Prep Time: 40 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Yield: ~ 2 dozen cookies

Print Recipe

Description

Do you enjoy the flavors of a gingersnap but prefer a soft and chewy cookie? My Ginger Molasses Cookies are the answer.

Ingredients

Scale

2 ¼ cups all purpose flour*
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon kosher salt (slightly less if using fine salt)
¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¹/₈ teaspoon nutmeg, freshly grated
1 ½ sticks unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 large egg
¼ cup unsulphured molasses
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Mix dry ingredients: In a bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt and spices.
Cream butter and sugar: In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine butter and sugar, and beat on medium speed for 2-3 minutes or until light and fluffy. This can also be done using a handheld mixer or a whisk.
Add remaining wet ingredients: Add egg and beat over medium speed until well-combined and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add molasses and vanilla, and beat to combine.
Add dry ingredients. Mix in dry ingredients in two to three additions, mixing over low speed. Do not over mix.
Chill dough. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours or up to three days.
Preheat oven and prep pans: Heat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with a silpat or parchment paper.
Scoop and roll. Remove dough from fridge. Place a few tablespoons of demerara sugar into a bowl. Scoop dough into 1 ½ tablespoon-sized portions and roll into sugar. Place on prepared baking sheet, spaced two inches apart. Press down to slightly flatten tops.
Bake: Bake in preheated oven for 9-12 minutes or until lightly browned and just cooked through, rotating half way through. You can bake one tray at a time on the center rack, or bake two trays at a time on the upper and lower thirds of the oven. If baking two trays at once, swap racks half way through, as well as, rotating pans front to back.
Cool and enjoy. Cool on baking pan for 5 minutes, and then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. Enjoy.

Notes

For an extra chewy cookie, use 1 ¼ cup all purpose flour and 1 cup of bread flour.

Instead of rolling in sugar, you can also glaze the cookies. Once cookies are completely cooled drizzle with my Bourbon Vanilla Glaze or Lemon Glaze.

Bourbon Vanilla Glaze: Combine 1 cup powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon bourbon, 2-3 tablespoons cream or milk, and 1 teaspoon vanilla bean extract or regular vanilla extract, and whisk until smooth.

Lemon Glaze: Combine 1 cup powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon melted unsalted butter, and 3-4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, and whisk until smooth.

Category: Dessert
Method: Bake
Cuisine: American

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1 cookie
Calories: 140
Sugar: 12g
Sodium: 100mg
Fat: 6g
Saturated Fat: 4g
Unsaturated Fat: 2g
Trans Fat: 0g
Carbohydrates: 21g
Fiber: 0.4g
Protein: 2g
Cholesterol: 23mg

Keywords: ginger molasses cookies, chewy ginger molasses cookies, chewy gingersnap cookies, cookies, Christmas

This post has been updated with a new recipe, new images and new text. The original recipe included a bourbon vanilla glaze, which is included in the recipe card notes.