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Molasses Crinkle Cookies are one of my holiday favourites. They’re perfectly chewy, lightly spiced with ginger, dusted with sugar and absolutely delicious. I tend to be an all or nothing kind of person when it comes to holiday baking. Some years I can’t wait to start and will typically make numerous types of cookies and squares. You know, gotta have a chocolate square, a raspberry coconut square, butterscotch squares, shortbread, etc etc. This year I’m opting to only make one type of square and one cookie. I know, I know, people will wonder what’s wrong with me. The truth of the matter is time or should I say the lack of it. As a food blogger with a full-time job, I struggle at times to get a post out weekly. I’m not complaining, because I love doing it, but I realize that I have to make priorities. This includes making time for myself personally and the people in my world. But as a food blogger, I cannot bring myself not to make any treats for giving and sharing. So the compromise is moderation, and you won’t be disappointed with my choice of cookie for the season.
Tips for amazing Molasses Crinkle Cookies:
-Chill the dough for at least 3 hours. The cookies spread while baking and the chilled dough keeps the process consistent during baking and prevents the cookie from overspreading. The result is a perfectly chewy cookie that’s not too thick.
-Weigh or measure each cookie for uniform cookies and even baking.
-Bake one tray at a time in the center of the oven. It takes more time, but worth it.
-If the dough balls soften while rolling them, give them a ten-minute chill just before baking.
-Generously coat in sugar when rolling into balls. This not only prevents the dough from sticking to your hands but gives the cookies a holiday look, especially if you use coarse sugar.
– The cookies will spread on their own without flattening.
-Don’t over-bake!! Can’t stress this enough. They only take 9-10 minutes.
Author:Â Compelled to Cook, adapted from Fine Cooking Magazine winter 2003 Molasses Crinkles.
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1/3 cup molasses
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup granulated or coarse sugar for rolling
- In a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, spices and salt. Set aside.
- Using an electric mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment cream butter and brown sugar until light.
- Add oil and molasses and beat until combined. Add egg and beat until fully incorporated.
- Mix in flour until well combined.
- Flatten dough into a round disk and chill for a minimum of three hours or overnight.
- Preheat oven to 375°F and line baking trays with parchment.
- Divide dough into equal portions using a tablespoon or weigh (I used 20g each). The dough balls should be an approximate inch in diameter.
- Roll each ball in sugar to coat completely. If the dough has warmed while you were rolling, rechill rolled dough for about 10 minutes to firm up again (this prevents the cookies from overspreading). Arrange prepared dough on baking trays placing at least 2" apart. There's no need to flatten cookies. Sprinkle the tops with additional sugar.
- Bake cookies on the middle rack for 9-10 minutes only. Remove from oven and allow to cool on pan for 5 minutes before moving to a cooling rack.
-Start these cookies several hours ahead as they need time to chill.
-Using coarse sugar makes for a pretty holiday cookie. It will take a little more coarse sugar than granulated sugar for rolling.
-I find the dough warms up too much while rolling into balls, especially if taking the time to weigh each one. Therefore, I suggest that you rechill the rolled balls for about 10 minutes to prevent too much spread. You can do this before rolling in sugar, after rolling in sugar, or once they are prepped on the baking tray (this is great if you can fit the tray in your fridge)
-At 20 grams each, I get 38-2 3/4" cookies.
-Do not overcrowd the cookies on the cookie sheet and do not overbake. These cookies are wonderfully chewy at the 9-minute mark.