RECIPE: Molasses cookies just like Grandma’s
Fall has me hankering for all things warm, aromatic and spiced. The cozy nights and even cozier cool mornings always make me salivate for mugs of chai or pumpkin spice and flavors like cinnamon, nutmeg and rich molasses. Enter one of the most perfect cookies to ever exist: the chewy, deeply satisfying molasses cookie.
Growing up, I would visit my Grammy Dodge in Texas around this time of year, and she would always have warm molasses cookies waiting with warm Grammy smiles and the biggest Grammy hugs. It’s one of the most salient cookie memories of my life. It’s why I love making them this time of year and enjoying them with a warm cup of tea or hot chocolate.
These cookies are spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, clove, allspice and molasses. Most stores carry the Grandma’s brand Original Molasses, which will work just fine, but if you ever find a roadside stand selling jars of molasses, buy them! Local molasses has so much more flavor than the commercial variety and tends to be a bit easier to work with.
Many people ask whether sorghum can be substituted for molasses, since it can be easier to find here in the South. The answer is yes, but decrease the granulated sugar by 1/2 cup because sorghum is sweeter than molasses.
The cookie’s chewiness really comes from the melted butter. Mixing it with the sugars and salt not only reduces the airiness, leading to a chewier texture, but it also allows you to mix by hand, forgoing the need for a stand or handheld mixer.
The resulting dough is great to roll with loved ones, top with a little turbinado sugar, bake, and eat warm while enjoying these beautiful days of fall.
- 12 tablespoons (6 ounces) unsalted butter, melted
- 1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) packed light brown sugar
- 1 cup (7 ounces) granulated sugar, divided
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup molasses
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups (10 ounces) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon allspice
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon cloves
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or nonstick silicone baking mats.
- In a large bowl, whisk together melted butter, brown sugar, 1/2 cup granulated sugar and salt until well combined. Whisk in molasses, egg and vanilla and stir until combined, but don’t over-whisk; we aren’t trying to add air.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, allspice, cinnamon, cloves, ginger and nutmeg. Fold dry mixture into wet mixture and stir until combined. Refrigerate 10 to 20 minutes to allow dough to relax and cool, making it easier to shape.
- Put remaining 1/2 cup granulated sugar in a small bowl. Using a scoop or your hand, portion dough into 1/4-cup size balls then roll in the sugar to coat. Place on baking sheets (6 to 7 balls per sheet) and use your hand to lightly press into 1/2- to 3/4-inch thickness.
- Bake until cookies begin to puff, 8 to 9 minutes, rotating baking pans 180 degrees halfway through.
- Remove from the oven and gently tap baking sheets on the countertop to deflate cookies and give them a nice, crackly top. Let cool for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool or enjoying while still warm. Makes 12-14 cookies.
Nutritional information
Per serving: Per cookie, based on 12: 309 calories (percent of calories from fat, 35), 3 grams protein, 48 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 12 grams total fat (7 grams saturated), 46 milligrams cholesterol, 321 milligrams sodium.Sarah Dodge is an Atlanta-based bread baker, pastry chef and baking instructor. She is the owner of Bread is Good, which offers bread subscriptions to the general public and wholesale baked goods to local markets and restaurants.
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