Soft Molasses Cookies Recipe | Cook the Book

Updated August 09, 2018

While surveying the many cookies I have baked this week, it occurred to me that they all fall into the crisp, crumbly, and crunchy camp of cookies. So, to mix things up I have decided to end this week with a soft cookie recipe.

These Soft Molasses Cookies from The King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion achieve their perfect soft cookie texture from being pulled out of the oven while the centers are still soft and quite puffy.

As they cool the centers fall creating tiny ridges and canyons sparking with a light coating of sugar. The flavor is pretty much unbeatable—rich and earthy with molasses and just the right hint of warm spice from the cloves and ginger. The cookies also turned out to be the ideal cookie size—big enough that you can theoretically be satisfied with one, but not so large that you feel bad about eating a few.

One more note: The King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion is one of the best baking books I have ever used. Every cookie came out perfect, not a single dud. It's a solid five hundred pages of cookie recipes that even the most amateur baker can feel comfortable tackling.

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As always with our Cook the Book feature, we have five (5) copies of The King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion to give away this week.

Recipe Details

Soft Molasses Cookies Recipe | Cook the Book

Prep 25 mins

Cook 20 mins

Chill/Cool 80 mins

Total 2 hrs 5 mins

Serves 44 cookies

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Ingredients

1 cup (2 sticks, 8 ounces) unsalted butter
1 cup (7 ounces) sugar, plus more for coating the dough
1/2 cup (6 ounces) molasses
2 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 teaspoons cinnamon
1 1/4 teaspoons ground cloves
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
2 large eggs
3 1/2 cups (14 3/4 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour

Directions

In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add molasses while mixing at a slow speed, then baking soda, salt, and spices. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl to make sure everything is incorporated. Stir in flour. Cover the bowl and refrigerate the dough for 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Lightly grease (or line with parchment) two baking sheets.
Shape or scoop the dough into 1 1/2-inch balls; a tablespoon cookie scoop works well here. Roll them in granulated sugar and put them on the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches between them.
Bake cookies for 10 minutes. After taking them out of the oven, allow cookies to cool on the pan for 10 minutes before transferring them to a rack to finish cooling.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
106	Calories
5g	Fat
15g	Carbs
1g	Protein

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 44
Amount per serving
Calories	106
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 5g	6%
Saturated Fat 3g	13%
Cholesterol 20mg	7%
Sodium 118mg	5%
Total Carbohydrate 15g	6%
Dietary Fiber 0g	1%
Total Sugars 8g
Protein 1g
Vitamin C 0mg	0%
Calcium 13mg	1%
Iron 1mg	4%
Potassium 73mg	2%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.