Chewy Molasses Spice Cookies

Season: All | Active Time: 45 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes, plus 1 hour for chilling | Difficulty: 2 (Easy)

Makes about 42 cookies

A good molasses cookie should achieve a harmony between the sweetness of brown sugar, the bitterness of molasses, and the gentle heat of spices. This cookie does all that, but where it really delivers is the texture: perfectly soft and chewy. The dough can be portioned and frozen ahead of time, making these your all-purpose holiday cookie. 

Special Equipment: Stand or hand mixer

INGREDIENTS

• 3¾ cups all-purpose flour (17 oz / 488g)

  Dessert Person by Claire Saffitz

• 1 tablespoon baking soda (0.63 oz / 18g)

• 2½ teaspoons ground ginger

• ½ teaspoon finely ground black pepper

• ½ teaspoon ground allspice

• ½ teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt

• ¼ teaspoon ground cloves

• 1½ sticks unsalted butter (6 oz / 170g), melted and cooled to room temperature

• 1½ cups packed dark brown sugar (10.6 oz / 300g)

• 2 large eggs (3.5 oz / 100g), at room temperature

• ½ cup unsulfured molasses (5.6 oz / 160g)

• 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar (0.33 oz / 9g)

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• ½ cup demerara sugar, for rolling

DIRECTIONS 

Mix the dry ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, ginger, pepper, allspice, salt, and cloves.

Make the dough: In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a large bowl using a hand mixer), beat the butter and brown sugar on medium speed until thick and slightly pale, about 1 minute. Add the eggs one at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition, beating until fluffy, about 1 minute. Add the molasses, vinegar, and vanilla and beat to combine. Reduce the mixer speed to low and gradually add the flour mixture, beating just until the last trace of flour disappears. The dough will be very soft and sticky.

Chill the dough: Divide the dough in half, wrap each in plastic, and press into a 6 × 6-inch square. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour and up to 2 days.

Preheat the oven and prepare the pans: Arrange two oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350°F. Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.

Roll the dough into balls: Place the demerara sugar in a small bowl. Remove one square of dough from the refrigerator, portion into 1-ounce (28g) pieces, and roll each into a ball (each ball should be about 1¼ inches). Toss the balls in the demerara sugar to coat on all sides, then place on the prepared baking sheets, spacing about 3 inches apart (the cookies will spread during baking). Refrigerate any balls that don’t fit on the baking sheets.

Bake: Bake on the upper and lower racks until the edges are firm to the touch but the centers are still very soft and slightly shiny, 12 to 14 minutes, switching racks and rotating the sheets front to back halfway through. *Remove from the oven and cool for at least 15 minutes on the baking sheets before using a thin spatula to transfer them to a wire rack. Repeat with the remaining dough

------------------

DO AHEAD

The cookies, stored airtight at room temperature, will keep up to 5 days. The raw cookie dough can be refrigerated up to 3 days. You can also roll the dough into balls, toss in sugar, arrange them in tight rows on a parchment-lined baking sheet, and freeze solid.. Transfer the balls to plastic freezer bags and keep frozen up to 2 months. No need to thaw before baking, but extend the bake time by 2 to 3 minutes.

*The cookies will look nearly raw in the center when you pull them out of the oven; they will continue to set as they cool. The key to the soft and chewy texture of these cookies is, simply, underbaking them. If you like a crisper spice cookie, bake them 2 minutes longer.

Reprinted from Dessert Person. Copyright © 2020 by Claire Saffitz. Photographs copyright © 2020 by Alex Lau. Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of Random House, a division of Penguin Random House

When you shop using our links, we earn a small commission. It’s a great way to support public media at no extra cost to you!