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Bakery Style Molasses Cookies

These giant Bakery Style Molasses Cookies are thick, chewy and filled with warm spices and molasses! Just the kind of cookie you would expect to find at a bakery, but super easy to make at home!

The ginger molasses combination is one of my favorites this time of year.

There’s something about the warm spices combined with the rich molasses flavor that makes it irresistible when it’s cold and blustery outside.

Because of this, making some sort of ginger molasses cookies has become a Christmas tradition for us.

Every year finds us cracking open a bottle of molasses and making a batch of cookies!

This year found us making batches these Bakery Style Molasses Cookies! (Yes, batches. One batch wasn’t nearly enough!)

Side view of a bakery style molasses cookie on a cooling rack surrounded by more cookies.

Giant balls of cookie dough (each one uses a 1/4 cup of dough!) are rolled in coarse sugar and baked just until the edges are set and the center is puffed and cracked.

As they cool and set, these cookies will look just like the kind that you see in display cases at a bakery.

And while looks are important to making food appetizing, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves combine with molasses and brown sugar to pack these bakery style cookies with flavor!

Perfectly thick and chewy with a bit of a crunch from the sugar coating, don’t be surprised if you find that a batch doesn’t last long!

Two chewy molasses cookies stacked on a small white plate with a glass of milk in the background.

How to Make Chewy Ginger Molasses Cookies

Start by lining two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 

In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, ground cloves, and salt until the spices are thoroughly incorporated into the flour.

In the bowl of stand mixer, or with an electric hand mixer and a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and sugar. Add in the egg, and beat until creamy. Mixture will look lighter and fluffier when creamy.

Add in the molasses and water, and beat until thoroughly combined.

Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, and beat to combine.

If the dough seems really sticky, refrigerate for 20-30 minutes before shaping into balls.

If the dough is workable, shape 1/4 cup sized amounts of dough into balls. (I like to use an ice cream scoop to portion out the dough.)

Molasses cookie dough balls on a parchment paper lined baking sheet before baking.

Roll the balls of dough into the coarse sugar. Place the sugar covered balls onto prepared baking sheets.

Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until edges just start to turn golden and the cookies are cracked completely across the tops and puffed.

If you are baking cookies on the top half and the bottom half of your oven, rotate the baking sheets halfway through the baking time to get even baking.

Overhead view of a batch of bakery style molasses cookies right out of the oven on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.

Remove baking sheets to a wire rack, and allow to cool for 5 minutes before removing the cookies.

Store the cookies in an airtight container.

Overhead view of bakery style molasses cookies on a cooling rack over a green and white dish towel.

Tips for Success

  • Can’t find coarse sugar? Regular granulated sugar will work just as well. You just won’t have the same crunch from the sugar.
  • If you don’t want to make giant cookies, you can make 2 inch sized balls of dough and get about 20 cookies or 1 inch sized balls of dough and get about 40 cookies.
  • Love soft, chewy molasses cookies? Bake just until the cookies are cracked across the top. They may appear underdone, but they will continue to set as they cool.

Two ginger molasses cookies stacked on a small white plate with a cooling rack of cookies in the background.

Love easy cookies? Here are more simple cookie recipes to try!

Two chewy molasses cookies stacked on a small white plate with a glass of milk in the background.

Bakery Style Molasses Cookies

Yield: 10 giant cookies 20 large cookies 36 small cookies
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Bake Time: 14 minutes
Total Time: 24 minutes

These giant Bakery Style Molasses Cookies are thick, chewy and filled with warm spices and molasses! Just the kind of cookie you would expect to find at a bakery, but super easy to make at home!

Ingredients

  • 2 1/4 Cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons ginger
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 Cup butter, softened
  • 1/2 Cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 Cup sugar
  • 1 egg, room temperature
  • 1/4 Cup molasses
  • 2 Tablespoons water
  • Coarse sugar for coating

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt until the spices are thoroughly mixed with the flour. Set aside.
  3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and sugar. Add in the egg, and beat until creamy. Add in the molasses and water, and beat until thoroughly combined.
  4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, and slowly beat to combine.
  5. If dough seems really sticky, refrigerate for 20-30 minutes before shaping into balls. If not, take 1/4 cup sized amounts of dough and shape them into balls. Rolls the balls of dough in the coarse sugar. Place on prepared baking sheet.
  6. Bake for 13-15 minutes, or until edges start to turn golden brown and center is puffed and cracked across the whole top. If you are baking cookies on the top half and the bottom half of your oven, rotate the baking sheets halfway through the baking time to get even baking.
  7. Remove baking sheets to a wire rack, and allow to cool for 5 minutes before removing the cookies from the baking sheet.
  8. Store cookies in an airtight container.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 10 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 272Total Fat: 10gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 43mgSodium: 238mgCarbohydrates: 43gFiber: 1gSugar: 21gProtein: 4g

Nutrition information shown is an estimate provided by an online calculator and may not always be accurate. Nutrition values can vary greatly based on brand used. It should not be considered a substitute for a medical professional’s advice.

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Up close overhead view of a bakery style molasses cookie.

Jeff the Chef @ Make It Like a Man!

Thursday 15th of December 2022

I've been on a gingerbread kick this year. I almost made gingerbread cookies, but then I didn't. Yours look perfect, and now I think I do need to make some!

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