Old-Fashioned Soft Molasses Cookies Recipe
Just Like Grandma (and Grandpa) Use to Make!
Do you ever pine for old-fashioned cookies from your childhood? I surely do.
Every now and again, I get a hankering for the homemade old-fashioned soft molasses cookies my mom use to make. Her soft molasses cookies recipe, clipped from her hometown Maine newspaper, The Quoddy Tides, made soft thick molasses cookies that she rolled and cut with a simple round biscuit cutter and sprinkled with sugar before baking.
If I close my eyes I can smell the aroma of molasses, sugar, and spices wafting through the kitchen. This desire can't be satiated until I get in the kitchen, pull out her soft molasses cookies recipe card from my treasured recipe box, and bake up a batch!
Molasses, a thick by-product from the processing of sugar beets - or sugar cane - into sugar crystals, was a staple in my Mom's and Nana's New England Kitchens. Molasses was routinely stirred into Saturday's pot of baked beans, poured onto Nana's homemade bread and fried dough, and used to sweeten homemade baked goods like gingerbread, gingersnaps, oatmeal bread, and soft molasses cookies.
If you long to recreate the simplicity of days gone by or begin your own special homemade cookie traditions, this soft thick molasses cookies recipe cut out with your favorite cookie cutter is perfect for keeping the cookie jar filled!
I have two variations of soft molasses cookies here for you to choose from - one made with butter and the other with shortening or margarine. Grandpa's Molasses Cookies recipe is more representative of the cookies I grew up eating, but if you prefer to bake with butter, Grandma's molasses cookies recipe is just as delicious in its own right.
Grandma's Soft Molasses Cookies Recipe
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup dark molasses (not blackstrap)
- 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, dissolved in a little bit of hot water
- 1 egg
- 3 cups sifted all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- In a medium heavy bottom saucepan, boil first seven ingredients (butter through ginger) until the butter is melted, the mixture is boiling rapidly, and everything is well combined.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the baking soda mixture and let cool for a few (about 5) minutes.
- While the mixture is cooling, in a medium bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder and set aside.
- Stir the egg into the molasses mixture and then stir in the flour mixture until incorporated.
- Place the saucepan in the refrigerator to cool thoroughly. This will take about 1 hour.
- When you are ready to bake the cookies, make sure one of your oven racks is in the middle of the oven and preheat your oven to 350F degrees.
- Line your cookie sheets with silicone liners, parchment paper, or nonstick foil or lightly grease them and set aside.
- Scoop the dough out onto a floured surface and then roll it to 1/2-inch thickness. Sprinkle the dough lightly with flour to prevent sticking.
- Cut the dough into shapes with your favorite cookie cutters and place on the prepared cookie sheets about 2 inches apart.
- Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until set, and then remove from the oven and allow to cool for 1 to 2 minutes before transferring your cookies to wire racks to cool completely.
- Once completely cool, store your cookies in an airtight container with a slice of soft bread to keep them soft.
This recipe yields about 3 dozen soft molasses cookies, but will vary greatly depending on the size and shape of cookie cutters used.
Grandpa's Soft Molasses Cookies Recipe
- 5 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 cup molasses
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup shortening or margarine, melted
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 2 teaspoons vinegar
- 2 teaspoons baking soda dissolved in 2 tablespoons water
- Sift together the flour, salt, ginger, and cloves into a large bowl and set aside.
- In another large bowl stir together the molasses, brown sugar, and shortening or margarine with a wooden spoon until well combined.
- Beat in the eggs, vinegar, and baking soda mixture then stir the flour into the molasses mixture until blended.
- Cover the bowl and refrigerate it until well chilled. This will take at least 2 to 3 hours.
- When you are ready to bake your soft molasses cookies, make sure one of your oven racks is in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 400F degrees.
- Line your cookie sheets with silicone liners, parchment paper, or nonstick foil or lightly grease them and set aside.
- Scoop out your dough a generous cupful at a time onto a floured surface.
- Roll the dough out to 3/4-inch thickness, flouring lightly as necessary to prevent sticking.
- Cut your cookies out using your favorite cookie cutters and place on the prepared cookie sheets about 2 inches apart.
- Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until set, and then remove from the oven and allow to cool for 1 to 2 minutes before transferring your cookies to wire racks to cool completely.
- Once completely cool, store your cookies in an airtight container with a slice of soft bread to keep them soft.
This recipe yields about 4 to 5 dozen soft molasses cookies, but will vary greatly depending on the size and shape of cookie cutters used.
You Might Need:
An important tool for success with your soft molasses cookies is a
HIgh Quality Rolling Pin
that can make rolling out cookie and pastry dough a dream.
Keep your cookies fresh while bringing a vintage touch to your kitchen countertop with this
Charming Glass Cookie Jar
. The stainless steel top features a silicone gasket to seal in the freshness of your favorite batches of homemade soft molasses cookies.
