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These Easy Bakery-Style Molasses Cookies are just like the cookies you find in a fine bakery, except you mix them up in one bowl and they cost WAY less!
If it looks and sounds too good to be true it probably is, right? That was my first thought when I saw the image of these Easy Bakery Style Molasses Cookies in an email I received from Bon Appétit. When I skimmed through the recipe, I was certain it was too good to be true.
Pie in the sky?
Come on, really? Just stir all the ingredients together, no mixer involved? No creaming butter and sugar? Just roll the dough in balls, bake them and they come out of the oven 10 minutes later, all crinkly-crackly, looking like they just walked out of a fancy bakery? No way.
I went on to the next email, but the image of those cookies kept haunting me. Before long I was staring at them again. I have several wonderful ginger-molasses cookie recipes, but none of them were this simple. So before I knew it, I was in the kitchen pulling out ingredients.
I found a few ways to simplify the Bon Appetit recipe even more and it, honestly, took less than 10 minutes to throw the dough together. As I placed the first pan in the oven, I had serious doubts. "Too good to be true", I thought.
You would have laughed at the big smile on my face as I peeked in the oven about 10 minutes later. "Wow!", is what came out of my mouth though no one was around. All crinkly-crackly, looking like they just walked out of a fancy bakery!
I couldn't wait for them to cool completely before I snitched a little piece. "Wow!" - chewy in the center and crisp on the edges - to me, the perfect ginger cookie.
Four batches later and the results are deliciously the same each time. Everyone who tries them loves them.
You will too!
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Easy Bakery Style Molasses Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup 1 stick butter
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup packed dark brown sugar
- ⅓ cup mild-flavored molasses
- 1 large egg
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- Raw sugar, also called Demera or Turbinado sugar, for rolling
Instructions
- Place oven racks in lower and upper thirds of oven and preheat to 375°. Line two sheet pans with parchment paper. (I love these parchment paper sheets that are already cut to the size of a sheet pan.)
- Melt butter in a medium large pot, just until melted. Remove from the heat and add sugars and stir to combine. Add molasses and egg and stir well.
- Stir in flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt just until combined.
- Place raw sugar in a shallow bowl. Scoop out dough with a cookie scoop (mine holds 2 tablespoons) and roll into balls. If dough seems sticky, chill 20 minutes. (Out of the four times I've made the cookies, only once did the dough seem sticky, but after a short stint in the refrigerator, it was perfect for rolling.
- Roll balls, sugar and place on prepared pans, spacing 2” apart.
- Bake cookies, rotating baking sheets halfway through, until cookies are puffed, cracked, and set around edges, 10-12 minutes. Transfer to wire racks and let cool.
- Do Ahead: Cookie dough can be made and rolled into balls 2 weeks ahead. Freeze on a baking sheet; transfer to resealable plastic bags. Let sit at room temperature 30 minutes before rolling in sugar.
Nutrition
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Great, reliable recipe. Thank you.
Thank you for the review, Cathy!
These are delicious! I made them gluten free by subbing Bob's Red Mill 1-1 flour and dairy free by subbing margarine for butter. In my oven, they took a lot less time than the recipe says so keep your eye on them! The sugar on the bottom of the cookies will burn if you leave them in too long.
Thank you for the review, Margaret!
So easy to make . My family loved them !!! I will certainly save this great recipe . I have had to make several batches already . They disappear so quickly.
Wonderful! Thanks for the review, Maureen!
I’m a big fan of molasses cookies. This is my go to recipe. So easy no mixer, one bowl, doesn’t get easier than that. This is delicious.
Thanks for letting us know, Janis!
I followed the recipe, but I think I might have done something wrong. My cookies did not flatten as the cookies shown. My cookies were about 1.2 ounces each. I do better with weight measurements. Maybe I overbaked. I baked them for 12 minutes. I did not like the taste very much. I might try this recipe again.
It's hard to say what went wrong without being in the kitchen with you, Catalina. Everyone has different tastes, hopefully you can find a recipe that works for you!
Can I use light brown sugar instead of dark brown since I don't have any 😜
Yes, that will work fine. The cookies will be a little lighter in color but still delicious!
Thank you
These are so delicious! My husband loves these. Whenever my four year old grandson comes over he always wants to bake "Papa's favorite brown cookies".
I love that, Kathy!
I like to mix cookies, form them, and freeze so I can just grab a few to bake when the oven is on. How long can I freeze them? One of your comments said 2 weeks. Can they be frozen longer?
Yes, definitely! I think it would be good for up to 2 months.
These were yummy and with just enough spice. Mine did not flatten as much as the picture of yours but were puffy which was fine. Prob cause I did not melt butter but just let it get to room temp. Lazy.
😂
Thanks, Slooky!
I am an experienced baker but this cookie is one I have no success with. I am going to try this recipe - fingers crossed.
It's a pretty foolproof recipe. Let us know how you like these cookies, GG!
These are finally a cookie I like, rather love. Question, do you leave pan on burner until everything is added or take pan off after melting butter?
Hi Jan, remove the pan from the heat once the butter is melted.
They were so good! Followed the recipe and everything turned out great. Not sticky at all. Thank you $
You're very welcome, Nancy! Thanks for taking the time to share your results!
Friend who went to culinary school: "I'll be thinking about these for awhile...can I have another?"
Wife: "I was going to have ice cream for dessert, but after having one of those cookies I'd rather eat them all."
So...chalk this up as a win. I doubled the recipe and cheated a little by using my stand mixer. Put in the melted butter and sugars, set it to stir (lowest setting), added the molasses, then the eggs, waiting for full incorporation at each step. Whisked the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt together in a separate mixing bowl, then added that to the mixer about 1/3 cup at a time.
Scraped it into a large ball within the mixer bowl using a spatula. The dough came together nicely but looked pretty soft/moist, so I chilled it for about twenty minutes and then it was more manageable. More time in the fridge wouldn't have hurt. I did the math, and each cookie should be about 29 grams, so if you put your mixing bowl on a zeroed out digital scale and then scoop until it reads -28g to -30g, your cookies will turn out super uniform and awesome. Don't roll them around in your hands too much, they'll get warm and sticky. Roll into a loose ball, get them coated in turbinado and drop them on the baking sheet.
I found that baking 2 sheets at a time caused the sheet which started on the top third to crack more significantly (read: beautifully). I'm guessing it got hotter faster at the beginning of the bake, whereas the sheet which started on the bottom third got its hottest near the end. My plan for the remaining dough (which is chilling overnight in the fridge right now) is to bake one sheet at a time, starting on the top third rack, then moving it down and rotating it halfway through. Hoping the long chill helps too, as I believe the cracking comes from the outside baking faster than the inside can keep up with. The turbinado sugar was a nice touch, gave it a little more crunch and some sparkle to draw the eye.
One person commented that they weren't very sweet, but then another said that's what made them so good. So maybe some icing if you're looking for extra sweetness? Will definitely make these again, also this is the recipe which led me to your site and I'm so glad! Thank you!
Wow, what a detailed and delightful review! I love the quotes and all of your specific adaptations. Thanks so much Tyler for taking the time to let us know your results!!
its de best
🙂
LOVE the recipe! Turned out perfectly. I did need to chill my dough - and, based on some of the reviews, I slightly flattened half the pan. Definitely preferred the non-flattened cookies. They all turned out great, but the balls had a much nicer thickness. Cookies were great fresh, and even better the next day! Love how easy this is! WE will be making these very often - maybe I should lose the recipe, LOL. These are dangerous!
Haha! I know what you mean Deb about losing the recipe, they are dangerous! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review! So happy you enjoyed them!
I can't even tell you how many times we've made these in the past month! I always have to double the recipe as they go VERY quickly. I like using the full-flavor molasses instead of mild. AWESOME cookies!
Thanks so much Deb for taking the time to leave a review. They are quite addictive!
I like that this cookie is so easy to make and it has wonderful flavor, but it is not what I expected. At 10 minutes bake time, my cookies started to burn and are dry, not chewy. I reduced my bake time to 8 minutes and the texture feels underdone in the mouth. I used unsalted butter, chilled my dough between batches and these didn't spread at all. They remained the same size as when I scooped them out- I used a cookie dropper-they just puffed.
So sorry you had non-stellar results Barb.
Wow what a huge disappointment these cookies were after the hype leading up to the recipe! The dough was too sticky so I refrigerated it as she says, it was still pretty sticky but I rolled in the sugar anyway. Puffed up then went flat and nearly burned at ten minutes and I rotated the pans too!
So sorry, not sure what could have gone wrong. I made them four times with great success each time. The recipe comes from Epicurious where it's rated 4 stars out of 4. It has tons of great reviews from other people who have made them. So sorry you had less than stellar results, I hate it when that happens.
I wondered if that would happen, when I read the directions to melt the butter. Maybe just try using room-temp butter and creaming the ingredients like a normal cookie dough?
Hi Cara, I thought the same thing at first but it worked great. If you check the Epicurious site, lots of other people love this recipe too!
I am totally a sucker for molasses cookies and I love that you discovered this fabulous recipe and shared it. It's going into my baking queue asap! 🙂
I always hear about these cookies, but never made them nor tasted them before. Looking at your pics, I guess I have to run to the kitchen and make some, Beautiful 🙂
These cookies look just perfect, Chris! Love the crackled tops and that pretty sparkling sugar!
A simple recipe is always welcomed when our days are busy. Wishing you and your family all the best in this new year. I can't wait to see what you will be sharing with us during the year. 🙂
Easy peasey...in the oven as we speak!!!! Cheated and ate some raw dough....outstanding!!!!
They stay moist on the inside for so long too Gayann. Scott had a couple in a ziplock bag that were made four days previous, and they still tasted wonderful!
Happy New Year Chris and Scott! Wishing you and your family a wonderful 2016!
What's not to love about a quick to make, pretty to look at, and delicious to eat cookie?! These ginger cookies are just the kind of cookie we prefer, crisp edges and chewy center. I am the oddball that loves ginger year round, so this recipe is especially welcome. 🙂
Oh Chris you're making this so tempting! These could be dangerous!
Hi Chris, Oh I cannot wait to make these, sometimes when I am close to a bakery I will stop in just to see if they have these cookies they are my favorite. Seems to be hit or miss, now I can make my own. Thanks!!!!
What a great holiday cookie (for next year). I can already smell the holiday aroma that these cookies would give off. Thanks for a new recipe for 2016!
Oooh, these are even easier than my tried and true ginger cookies! A must try for sure. Plus, I love the extra crunch from the larger crystal sugar. SO glad I didn't give up cookies as my NY resolution 😉
These are my favourite cookie and I absolutely love your blog! Thank you for posting this recipe. Happy New Year from a follower and fan from Canada! Again, love your blog!
That's so sweet Debra! Scott just snuck the last cookie from a batch last night. They are really for all seasons, but the molasses and ginger seem so appropriate for the holidays. Happy New Year from us in North Carolina!
I hope you've had a wonderful holiday Chris! Happy New Year to you and Scott. However, these cookies will not help my commitment to eating fewer cookies! They look delicious 🙂
Oops, sorry Tricia! They are that good - warm with a cold glass of milk - unbelievable!
Looks like a great cookie, color, texture, and taste.
They are simply scrumptious Amy! Enjoy!
O.K. - I am going to try these - I got mad at my tried and true ginger cookies I have been making for 15 years.
The recipe makes way too many and something went wrong this year-can't live without ginger cookies! Thanks
regina
We can't either Regina! Happy New Year to you and Barry!
If I didn't have a few containers of Christmas goodies left to finish, I'd be making these today! I think they'd be wonderful with a cup of coffee in the morning 🙂 Happy New Year, Chris!
Well, when they're all gone Susan, you know what to make!
Happy New Year to you a couple of talented people. Your newsletters are so welcome in my inbox and YeS these are just like from a Bakery...You are an amazing baker, lots of love xoxo
Oh, thanks so much Beverley! I love to bake and always have some new idea "cooking" in my culinary brain! Happy New Year!
Happy New Year to you both and to all you love!
These cookies are a far cry from my grandmother's dry molasses cookies that she loved and I hated. I could eat them hot out of the oven but after that, bleh. Your cookies look fantastic and I'd love to make these.
That's true Maureen, some of us had good molasses cookies memories and some, not so much! This will give you great memories - crinkly, crackly crust and soft yummy insides!
THANK YOU, Chris, for sharing the recipe, you know that I LOVE those cookies.
Happy New Year!
That's great Angie! Happy New Year to you too!
Haven't made this type of cookie in years but did today after seeing this post. So easy, so good. Don't be afraid to amp up the spices, increased the cinnamon to 2 tsp and added 1/4 tsp of cayenne. Next time, more ginger and maybe some diced candy ginger! Thank you for reminding me of a favourite from the past. Love the small batch this makes as well.
Kim, great ideas and fun combinations!
Love these cookies; I've been making them for years (found original recipe in Mom's ancient Betty Crocker cookbook). They disappear fast in my household but also keep very well if I stash some just for me. I love your blog and hope you have a wonderful New Year!
Thank you Helen, for your sweet comment. Seems everyone has a memory of these cookies from childhood. Happy New Year to you too!