Chocolate Molasses Cookies Recipe
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This bakery-style chocolate molasses cookies recipe is one of my favorites for autumn and winter. Made with a combination of brown sugar, ginger, molasses, and spices like cinnamon and nutmeg, these remind me of soft gingerbread, but with cocoa undertones and big, gooey chunks of dark chocolate on top. They make a nice addition to a Christmas cookie tray, but you can enjoy this recipe all year long. I’ve been known to keep a batch in the freezer for whenever a ginger cookie craving strikes!
Key Ingredients
- Molasses – Molasses offers an interesting depth of flavor, with notes of caramel and toffee, plus just the right balance of sweetness and slightly bitter notes. It also makes these cookies extra moist. Depending on where you are in the world, you might have access to molasses but not black treacle, or black treacle but not molasses. Both of these are dark, thick syrups commonly used in baked goods like gingerbread and fruit cake.In the US, I test most of my recipes with Grandma’s molasses, but any good-quality brand of unsulphured molasses will work. Do not use blackstrap molasses. In the UK and Europe, you can replace the molasses with black treacle. Lyle’s is my go-to brand.
- Spices – I used a blend of ground ginger, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, and ground cloves to create the spiced, gingerbread-like flavor. You can also add a pinch of ground allspice, or even a small amount of homemade mixed spice, to increase the spicy-sweet flavor of the cookie dough.
- Sugars – A combination of granulated sugar and brown sugar creates the sweet, moist cookie dough base. To substitute different types of white or brown sugar, consult my guide to different types of sugars.
- Chocolate – You’ll need unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch processed) for the cookie dough, plus chunks of chopped dark chocolate. Feel free to substitute dark or semi sweet chocolate chips, or use milk chocolate instead.
- Ginger – I’ve used 1 teaspoon of ground ginger, along with a tablespoon of finely minced fresh ginger. These cookies definitely taste like ginger, but not overwhelmingly so. If you’re a hardcore ginger fan, you can increase the amount of ground ginger to two teaspoons, or toss in some extra minced fresh ginger.
Tips and Tricks
- Don’t skip the chilling steps. The initial chill improves both flavor and texture, while chilling the scooped dough balls prior to baking will prevent the cookies from spreading too much in the oven, and help them to retain their round shape.
- Bake in batches. As written, this molasses cookies recipe will produce 24 3-inch round cookies. I suggest using a half-sheet rimmed tray, and baking in two batches of 12 cookies each. Do not attempt to fit all 24 on the tray at one time (these cookies will spread!) and don’t put two trays in the oven at once.
Creating Perfectly Round Cookies
For perfectly round (and Instagram-worthy) cookies, I like to reshape my freshly baked cookies with a round metal cutter. If you don’t own a round metal cutter set, it’s absolutely worth purchasing one for your baking toolkit. (I have several sets!) They work nicely for reshaping cookies, but they’re also great for tracing macaron or piped cookie templates, cutting rolled cookies, making biscuits and shortcakes, and creating fondant cake decorations, among many other things.
Simply place the ring around the cookie and gently nudge or “swirl” into a round shape. It’s important to do this immediately after removing the tray of cookies from the oven. If you wait even a minute or two, the molasses cookies will start to cool, and they’ll crack or break when you try to reshape them. So work quickly!
Chocolate Molasses Cookies
- Total Time2 hours 15 minutes (including chilling time)
- Yield24 3-inch round cookies 1x
Chewy molasses cookies made with spices, fresh ginger, and chopped dark chocolate. These bakery-style ginger molasses cookies are one of my favorite cookies recipes for fall, winter, or Christmastime, but they’re equally delicious all year long.
Ingredients
256 grams all purpose flour (2 cups)
25 grams cocoa powder (1/4 cup)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
170 grams unsalted butter, softened (12 tablespoons or 1 1/2 sticks)
150 grams dark brown sugar (3/4 cup, packed)
50 grams granulated sugar (1/4 cup), plus more for rolling
1 large egg, at room temperature
115 grams molasses, or black treacle (1/3 cup)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
10 grams finely minced fresh ginger (1 tablespoon)
113 grams chopped dark chocolate (3/4 cup; 4-ounce bar)
Instructions
In a medium bowl, whisk flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, ground ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and kosher salt. Set aside.
In a separate bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, mix the softened butter on high speed until light and fluffy.
Add the dark brown sugar and granulated sugar and mix on medium-high speed until well combined.
Mix in the egg, molasses, vanilla extract, and fresh ginger. Mixture may look slightly separated.
Add the dry ingredients in 2 additions, mixing until just combined.
With a wooden spoon or flexible rubber spatula, stir in the chopped dark chocolate, reserving a few pieces for the tops of the cookies.
Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour, or overnight.
Preheat oven to 350° F (176° C). Line a half-sheet rimmed baking tray with parchment or a silicone mat. Line a second small tray or plate with parchment, wax paper, or a silicone baking mat.
With a 1 1/2-inch cookie scoop, portion the chilled dough into balls. (You should have about 24 balls total.) Arrange on small prepared tray. Refrigerate 15 minutes.
Roll half of the balls in granulated sugar and arrange on prepared tray. Add reserved chocolate pieces to the tops of the balls.
Bake in preheated oven for 10-12 minutes, or until big and puffy. For perfectly round cookies, quickly reshape with a metal cutter (see notes in the recipe above).
Cool on tray for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining balls of cookie dough.
Store molasses cookies in an airtight container, layered between sheets of parchment, for up to 5 days.
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Chilling Time: 1 hour 15 minutes, divided
- Cook Time: 10-12 minutes
- Category: Biscuits and Cookies
- Method: Oven
Make-Ahead and Storage Suggestions
To make ahead: The cookie dough requires at least an hour of chilling time, but you can make and chill the dough up to 24 hours in advance. Cover the bowl and refrigerate until ready to bake. You can also portion the dough with a cookie scoop, and chill the balls up to 24 hours ahead of time. Do not roll the balls in granulated sugar until just before baking. The sugar will attract moisture in the fridge and will make your cookie dough sticky and damp.
To freeze: Layer cookies between sheets of parchment and freeze in an airtight container for up to three months.
Other Cookie Recipes You Might Enjoy
Lavender-Lemon Latte Cookies
Parsnip Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting
Peppermint Cookies with Chocolate Ganache
Mint M&M Cookies
Rolo Cookies
Cinnamon Chai Macarons
And if you do make these, or any of my recipes, don’t forget to tag me @bastecutfold or use the hashtag #bastecutfold on Instagram. I always love to see what you’re making!
