These bite-size soft molasses cookies with molasses frosting and candied sprinkles are a delicious and festive treat perfect for the holidays. The molasses in the cookies give a warm and cozy flavor, while the frosting and the sprinkles add a touch of sweetness. The perfect holiday cookie recipe everyone will enjoy.
I love a soft, chewy cookie. It’s just a thing of beauty. And this time of year, I make a lot of molasses cookies. It’s such a classic flavor for the fall and winter, not to mention the holidays. The recipe I’m sharing today makes the softest, chewiest molasses cookies, but I don’t stop there. I top them with a rich, creamy molasses frosting and finish them off with sprinkles. They’re always a big hit, and everyone always comes back for more.
Soft Molasses Cookies
These cookies start with an easy cookie dough recipe that bakes up super soft and chewy thanks to the molasses that also gives it its delicious flavor. I bake the cookies to perfection, then I top them with a homemade molasses cream cheese frosting and finish them off with fun, festive sprinkles! The entire process only takes a few minutes plus an hour to chill the dough. It’s a super easy recipe, and everyone comes back for more again and again.
Why You’ll Love This Soft Molasses Cookie Recipe
- They are bite-sized and are the perfect size for a quick snack or dessert, and they are ideal for parties or gatherings.
- They are soft and chewy, and the molasses and the brown sugar give them a soft and chewy texture that is absolutely delicious.
- They’re easy to make and are great to make in advance. The frosting and festive sprinkles can be added just before serving.
Soft Molasses Cookie Ingredients
You’ll only need simple, basic baking ingredients to make these cookies. You probably have most of them in your kitchen right now, and anything you don’t is easily found at your local grocery store.
For the Molasses Cookies
- Granulated sugar
- Butter, softened
- Molasses
- Large egg
- All-purpose flour
- Baking soda
- Ground cinnamon
- Salt
- Ground ginger
- Ground cloves
- Ground nutmeg
- Optional: sugar for coating
For the Molasses Frosting
- Cream cheese
- butter, softened
- Vanilla extract
- Molasses
- Powdered sugar
How to Make Soft Molasses Cookies
Making these cookies is a snap. Like any cookie dough, you’ll combine the ingredients until you have a dough. The only extra step is chilling the dough. After that, the frosting is a basic one that comes together easily.
Step 1: Combine the Wet Ingredients
Beat the sugar, butter, and molasses in a large bowl. Then, add the egg and beat until light and fluffy.
Step 2: Add the Wet Ingredients
Mix in the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg until well combined.
Step 3: Chill
Cover the dough and chill it for an hour or more in the refrigerator. This makes the dough easier to handle and controls the spread.
Step 4: Roll and Coat
Roll the dough into ½-inch balls and roll each ball in sugar to coat. Place the coated balls on an ungreased cookie sheet.
Step 5: Bake
Bake the cookies for 8 to 10 minutes, then remove them from the oven and let them sit on the baking sheet for a minute. Finally, transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
Step 6: Make the Frosting
Beat the cream cheese and butter in a medium mixing bowl until creamy. Then, add the vanilla and molasses and mix well. Finally, slowly add the powdered sugar and beat until creamy.
Step 7: Decorate
When the cookies have cooled completely, frost them with the molasses frosting and add decorative sprinkles.
Recipe Tips
- Make sure your dough is chilled, as this helps create the signature crackling on top of the cookies.
- Be sure your butter is fully softened so you get the best texture when making your cookies.
- The butter and cream cheese should be fully softened for your frosting to avoid grainy frosting.
- Be sure you let your cookies cool for 1 minute on the baking sheet after removing them from the oven. This allows carry-over cooking time to bake them to perfection.
- Let your cookies fully cool before frosting them or the frosting won’t stick.
- DO NOT use black strap molasses in this recipe. It’s too strong and too bitter.
Variations
- You can make these cookies plain if you’re not a fan of frosting.
- Try adding butterscotch chips to the molasses cookie dough.
- The sugar coating is optional.
What to Serve with Soft Molasses Cookies
Like any delicious cookie, these are great with a glass of milk or a cup of coffee or tea. They also make a great addition to any party or holiday dessert table along with all your other favorite sweets like more cookies, cakes, pies, cupcakes, and other sweet snacks.
Recipe FAQ
Both light and dark molasses are suitable for cookies. Neve use black strap molasses in your cookies.
Molasses cookies are sweet, but they also have a bit of a bite. They’re super soft and chewy, and the classic fall spices make them so good during the fall and winter.
Chilling cookie dough helps control its spread as it bakes. In addition, chilling the dough is what gives these molasses cookies their signature cracked top.
If you didn’t chill your dough, you won’t get those signature molasses cookie cracks.
Using more brown sugar than white sugar will make your cookies softer and chewier. In addition, something like molasses or Karo syrup adds moisture along with sweetness, and the extra moisture helps make the cookies soft and chewy.
How to Store Frosted Molasses Cookies
Refrigerate these cookies for up to 4 days in an airtight container. For longer storage, flash freeze the cookies, then place them in an airtight, freezer-safe container in single layers separated by parchment paper. Freeze for up to a month.
Try These Delicious Soft Molasses Cookies Today
These soft molasses cookies are loaded with the sweet flavors of fall, and they’re topped with a rich, decadent molasses cream cheese frosting. The best part is that they’re as easy as they are delicious! Give these cookies a try, and get ready to fall in love. They’re a classic taste of the holidays and everyone always comes back for seconds and thirds.
More Delicious Cookie Recipes You’ll Enjoy
These Chocolate Chunk Toffee Cookies are loaded with dark chocolate chunks and toffee bits in every bite, and they are a favorite cookie recipe the whole family will enjoy.
Soft Molasses Cookies
Ingredients
Molasses Cookies
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup butter, softened
- ¼ cup molasses
- 1 large egg
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- Optional: sugar for rolling the cookies in
Molasses Frosting
- 4 oz cream cheese, room temperature
- ¼ cup butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon molasses
- 1½ cups powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°
- In a large mixing bowl, beat sugar, butter and molasses together.
- Beat in egg until light and fluffy.
- Mix in flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, ginger, cloves and nutmeg together until well combined.
- Cover dough and refrigerate for about an hour. This makes handling the dough much easier.
- Roll dough into ½ in balls. Roll each ball in sugar to coat.
- Place on an ungreased cookie sheet.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and let sit for 1 minute before removing cookies and placing on a wire rack to cool completely.
- In a medium mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and butter together until creamy.
- Add vanilla and molasses, mix well.
- Slowly add powdered sugar and beat until creamy.
- Frost cookies once they have cooled.
- Garnish with gold sprinkles, optional
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