My grandmother made these every single Christmas, and the smell alone could pull me out of bed faster than anything else in the world. That warm molasses-and-spice scent filling the kitchen? Pure magic.
I’m not even kidding when I say I made a double batch last weekend and they were gone by Monday morning. My husband kept sneaking them with his coffee, and I caught my daughter eating one straight from the cooling rack at 10 PM. No shame. Just pure cookie bliss.
These soft molasses cookies have that perfect chewy-crisp edge with the most tender, almost cake-like center. They crack beautifully on top, get rolled in sparkly sugar, and taste like everything cozy about the holidays wrapped into one bite. The molasses gives them this deep, rich sweetness that’s impossible to resist.
**INGREDIENTS:**
• ¾ cup butter, softened
• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 egg
• ¼ cup molasses
• 2¼ cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• ½ teaspoon ground cloves
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• Granulated sugar, for rolling
**INSTRUCTIONS:**
Preheat your oven to 375°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Cream together the softened butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy.
Beat in the egg and molasses until smooth and glossy.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt.
Gradually mix the dry ingredients into the wet mixture until just combined.
Roll the dough into 1-inch balls, then roll each one generously in granulated sugar.
Place them about 2 inches apart on the baking sheet.
Bake for 8–10 minutes, until the edges are set and the tops have those gorgeous cracks.
Let them cool on the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
Try not to eat three while they’re still warm. I failed at this.
Would you make a batch this weekend, or are you already planning to double the recipe like I did?