Easy Ginger Molasses Cookie Recipe
I love molasses cookies because they’re soft, chewy and richly spiced thanks to the molasses. The texture is definitely chewy but soft. These are not crunchy cookies like gingersnaps are. These are Team Soft and Chewy. When you combine that rich molasses flavor and along with ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg like you’d find in gingerbread cookies, you’ve got the best of both worlds – molasses ginger cookies! But I didn’t stop there. I added the most delightful eggnog cream cheese frosting to this easy Christmas cookie recipe! Of course you don’t have to frost them and they’re plenty good as-is, But it’s the holidays and ’tis the season to splurge and I say frost away! The overall eggnog flavor is pretty subtle in case you’re wondering but the cream cheese frosting is great to really stand up to and balance the bold flavors in the cookies. What I really love about these cookies is that they’re easy to make. They’re not like a traditional cut-out gingerbread cookie recipe, which while delicious, cut out cookies are always more work because you have to roll them out. And then frost them. With these chewy ginger cookies, you just chill the dough and bake them off, no rolling required. I also appreciate that you can just apply the frosting with a spoon. It’s thin enough that you can just spread it on, no fussy piping bags required.
Ingredients in Ginger Molasses Cookies
To make this recipe for ginger cookies with molasses, you’ll need the following common fridge and pantry ingredients. Soft & Chewy Molasses Gingerdoodles – Not to be missed! Three cookies rolled into one – molasses, gingerbread, and snickerdoodles! Soft Molasses Coconut Oil Crinkle Cookies – A decade+ long favorite that uses coconut oil rather than butter (long before coconut oil was trendy)! Classic Chewy Gingerbread Cookies – The classic rollout and cutout cookies, piped to perfection, and timeless. Still softer than gingersnap cookies.
Cookies
Unsalted butter Granulated sugar Molasses Large egg Vanilla extract All-purpose flour Baking soda Baking powder Ground ginger Ground cinnamon Ground cloves Ground nutmeg Salt
Frosting
Cream cheese Confectioners’ sugar Eggnog
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Ginger Molasses Cookies
These cookies are a cinch to make with very little prep time and follow pretty standard cookie making protocol: Step 1: In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter and sugar. You can use a stand mixer or a handheld electric mixer. Step 2: Add the egg, molasses, vanilla, and beat to combine. Step 3: Add all the dry ingredients – flour, all spices, salt – and beat to incorporate. Step 4: Scrape the sides of the bowl to form a doug mound, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours to chill the cookie dough. Step 5: Use a small cookie scoop to form 1-inch sized balls (about 1 tablespoon) and bake in a preheat oven for about 8 minutes. Chill the cookies on a wire rack.
How to Make Eggnog Frosting
Homemade eggnog frosting is a cinch to make! 2. Chill the dough. Don’t be tempted to skip this step. You can pop the whole mixing bowl into the fridge. You could probably shortcut it by placing the bowl in the freezer for 30 minutes but I use the fridge because it cools the dough more evenly than the freezer. If you don’t chill the dough at all, the cookies will spread during baking and turn into ginger molasses puddles which you don’t want! 3. If you’re a fan of really well spiced cookies with BIG bold flavors, you can add extra spices. As written the cookies are pretty well spiced, but an extra 1/2 to 1 teaspoon each of ginger and cinnamon will do the trick! You could go up to a teaspoon ground cloves and/or nutmeg but just make sure you love those flavors first! 4. Allow the cookies to cool completely before frosting them so the frosting doesn’t melt! Step 1: Simply beat the cream cheese in a large bowl. Step 2: Add the confectioners’ sugar, eggnog, and beat until the mixture is smooth. Step 3: Spread a bit of frosting on each ginger cookie and place them in the fridge for about 15 minutes, or until the frosting sets up before enjoying!
Storage Instructions
After you frost the cookies, I suggest placing them in the fridge for about 15 minutes to allow the frosting to set up. But it will set up on its own at room temp. 2. No eggnog on hand? Or you don’t like it? No problem – use 2% or whole milk instead. 3. Use your judgment if you think you need to use a tiny bit more eggnog than called for depending on how thick or thin you like your icing. If I know I am serving these for a holiday party, putting them out on a cookie tray for a Christmas party, or they’re going to be consumed within 12-24 hours of frosting them, I just leave them at room temp. They will taste best that way! Of course, do as you wish on this, but I am fine with storing cream cheese frosted goods at room temp for up to 24 hours. However, because these are frosted with cream cheese frosting, any frosted molasses ginger cookies that you aren’t going to consume within a day, should be stored airtight in the fridge. They’ll keep for up to 1 week.
Can I Freeze Molasses Ginger Cookies?
If you plan to freeze them, that’s fine. But make sure they are unfrosted.
Freeze unbaked dough: Make 1-inch sized dough balls and freeze for up to 3 months. You can bake straight from frozen, adding 1-2 minutes or as needed. Freeze baked cookies: Cookies will keep airight for up to 3 months in the freezer. Thaw at room temp as needed and them frost them. Don’t freeze frosted cookies!
More Cookie Recipes with Molasses:
All of my recipes using molasses! Tried this recipe? Leave a review! Consider leaving a 5 star rating if you’ve made and loved one of my recipes! Classic Chewy Gingerbread Cookies — Soft and chewy cut-out gingerbread cookies filled with plenty of ginger and warming spices! Decorated with a sweet, soft royal icing and topped with cinnamon candies, these gingerbread men are a nostalgic favorite Christmas cookie that everyone adores! Soft & Chewy Molasses Gingerdoodles — These soft molasses cookies taste like a cross between chewy gingerbread cookies and crinkly snickerdoodles. An unbeatable holiday cookie recipe! Soft Molasses Coconut Oil Crinkle Cookies — No butter, no problem. One of my favorite molasses cookie recipes! Chewy Molasses Chocolate Chip Cookies — Amply flavored with molasses, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves. Chocolate is used three times! Cocoa powder, chocolate chips, and chocolate chunks are used, making these perfect for chocolate lovers!! Soft & Chewy Brown Sugar Cookies — These cookies are sweetened entirely with dark brown sugar! Between the molasses in the sugar and the molasses in the dough, these cookies are rich, deep and caramely in flavor! Iced Gingerbread Bars — Soft, chewy bars that are full of rich gingery molasses flavor!! Wayyyy faster and easier than rolling out gingerbread cookies! No mixer, no fuss, and the sweet icing seals the deal!! Soft and Chewy Molasses Bars – Dense, rich and like eating a piece of molasses fudge. Easy no-mixer recipe that’s seriously like a big warm hug of fudgy molasses cookie bar!
