Spicy Molasses Cookies
These 100% whole wheat molasses cookies deliver a seriously spicy kick of flavor and that elusive crisp on the outside, soft on the inside texture.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on September 19, 2024
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As a kid, I didn’t like molasses flavored cookies. I’d crinkle my little nose at gingerbread men and reach for a snickerdoodle instead. I’ve changed my ways this year and finally learned to like—no, to love—the bittersweet flavor of molasses. Molasses retains some of the trace minerals found in the sugar cane plant, like iron and calcium, so it’s a sweetener worth learning to like.
These cookies deliver a serious kick in the mouth, with a strong molasses flavor and lots of warm spices, including a dash of freshly ground black pepper. Simmering the spices with the butter lends a delightful complexity and makes the cookies extraordinary. These cookies are not for kids, mind you, but for true molasses fans.
I’ve been posting more dessert recipes than usual this month but promise that come January, we can detox with greens and satisfying soups. So if you’re not quite fed up with holiday sweets yet, I suggest making a batch of these spicy treats this weekend. One batch yields only about 16 cookies, and they freeze well, so you can savor them over the next couple of cold months if you’d like. I find that one of these spicy cookies is the perfect companion my afternoon cup of coffee.
Spicy Molasses Cookies
These 100% whole wheat molasses cookies deliver a seriously spicy kick of flavor and that elusive crisp on the outside, soft on the inside texture.
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons raw (turbinado) sugar, divided
- ¾ cup whole wheat pastry flour*
- ⅓ cup whole wheat flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons (¾ stick) unsalted butter
- ¾ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ⅛ teaspoon ground allspice
- ⅛ teaspoon ground pepper (a couple of twists’ worth)
- ¼ cup light or dark molasses
- 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar or Muscovado sugar
- 1 large egg yolk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- With an oven rack in the middle position, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Pour 1 tablespoon of raw sugar into a small, shallow dish for rolling.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, baking soda and salt.
- In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in the cinnamon, ginger, cloves, allspice and pepper. Cook until fragrant, about 1 to 2 minutes.
- Transfer the butter mixture to a large bowl and let cool slightly.
- Whisk the remaining 3 tablespoons raw sugar, brown sugar, egg yolk, vanilla and molasses into the melted butter mixture. Stir in the flour mixture until combined.
- Use a cookie dough scoop or spoons to scoop out about one tablespoon of dough at a time. Lightly shape into a ball and dunk half the cookie into the small bowl of raw sugar. Place each cookie on the baking sheet, sugar side up, leaving a couple of inches around each cookie.
- Bake the cookies until the edges are set but the centers are still soft, puffy and underdone, which will take 9 to 12 minutes.
- Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for ten minutes, then serve warm or transfer to a cooling rack.
Notes
- Adapted from The America’s Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook.
- Note that you can temper the intensity of the molasses by choosing a lighter molasses and going with light brown sugar; the darker the better, in my opinion.
- *You can find whole wheat pastry flour in well-stocked grocery stores or in health food stores. If you don’t, the best substitute texture-wise would be all-purpose flour. Or substitute white whole wheat flour or regular whole wheat flour for less tender cookies.
- For flatter, less puffy cookies like you see in my gingersnap and pumpkin ice cream sandwiches, use 1 cup + 2 teaspoons white whole wheat (or regular whole wheat) flour in place of the whole wheat pastry/whole wheat flours indicated in the recipe.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Uhhhh, okay YES.
Happy New Year, Kate! xo!
Oooh, so pretty. The course sugar is like sparkly little jewels :D I loooooove molasses, especially in spicy cookies. These look great – I love that you add pepper!
I usually pass up the gingerbread in favor of other cookies too, but you make these look pretty darn good!
Love these cookies! Happy New Year to you! xoxo
yummy — love molasses cookies!
I love molasses in any capacity – adding these cookies to my must bake list. Happy New Year!
Oh my…where to begin? I love ginger. I love eating sweet treats with really strong, black coffee, especially baked goods with such a strong spicy flavor (ie pumpkin). I was lucky enough to get not just one of these little bad boys when I visited Kathryne, but a whole baggie!
These are just awesome! Strong, spicy, and bold. All the ginger kick of a ginger snap, without the snap! No, these soft cookies do not snap at all, they have the perfect texture, very moist and soft. And they do freeze very well! The ones I had came out of the freezer. I took one out of the bag, put it on my dash, and by the time I had run into the coffee shop and back out to my car that lil treat was unthawed and perfect!
I have a bag of ginger snaps that I love to snack on when I make my morning coffee on the weekends. These totally trump those!
I had enough of these “grown-up cookies” to share with my mom over coffee (with many ohhs and ahhhs), and I even saved two and brought them all the way back to minneapolis for my beau! Now I need to make my own! Thanks Kathryne!
I love molasses cookies! These look especially good and how interesting that you cook the butter and the spices. And I love that they’re whole grain. Molasses is kind of magical in that it kills all the not-so-tasty whole grain taste, at least for me, so I’m sure these are amazing. :)
You’re exactly right, Erin. I don’t think a person could possibly tell that these cookies are made with whole grains! Molasses covers up any trace of whole wheat flavor, though I don’t usually notice much of that flavor when I use whole wheat pastry flour.
Superb post..and so delicious.I love the way you made it and shared this beautiful recipe with us.I just can’t wait and going to show my mom and ask her to prepare it.I think it will be very easy to carry it on the tours so that your traveling will be more exciting.
I just made this soup. Wow. It is so wonderful! I love it. In the last week I’ve also made your spicy molasses cookies, pecan butter and orange and cranberry steel-cut outs. I am so hooked on your blog I cannot stop! All so so so yummy, and introducing me to new foods (like steel-cut oats and farro) that I have never had before and am so in love with. Thanks!
I’m so happy to hear that you enjoy my recipes! I have a few more in the works now, can’t wait to share them with you. Thanks for taking the time to comment, Kelsey!
Yup. Officially my favourite food blog now. I can’t stop cooking your stuff. I’ve made these cookies three times now, love them. Everyone I make them for, loves them. Thank goodness for you totally spicing up my kitchen life :) Your recipes are amazing. Don’t stop :D
Thank you so much, Kelsey! I really love hearing from visitors who have tried my recipes and I’m delighted you enjoy them! I’ll keep ’em coming. :)
i made these last night… oh my they are soooo good. i love all the spices you used – especially the twists of black pepper it adds so much. i crushed some up and added them to a persimmon frozen yogurt recipe. LOVE!!!
Thanks, Kari. I think it’s about time to make another batch of these. Persimmon frozen yogurt sounds stellar.
These look heavenly! I love that they do not contain any processed sugar. I wonder if they would work to use gluten free flour…
They just might! Please let me know if you try.
I live in Austin, so while the calendar says fall, here it still feels like summer. That being said, I was getting into the fall spirit last weekend and decided to make these cookies. Amazing! It was so easy and they came out great. Also they did really well in the freezer – I made them on Sunday and pulled them out on Friday to share with my fellow grad student friends who couldn’t stop gobbling them up. Thanks for another great recipe! Looking forward to the next
Thanks, Elizabeth! I actually made a batch of these yesterday. Glad to hear that your friends enjoyed the cookies, too!
I made the cookies , they were amazing! I will be making them again and am adding them to my favorites. They were soft and fluffy. I used 3/4 cup white flour and 1/4 Barley Flour,(Barley Flour is sooo much better than Whole Wheat). I probably would mix it up in the future.Thanks
Call me a piggy, but these cookies are INCREDIBLE if you take two of them, along with your coconut whipped cream from the toasted oatmeal recipe, and make a pseudo whoopie-pie with toasted coconut flakes around the outside. mmmmmmmm….
I’ll call you a GENIUS! That sounds amazing. Thanks for the inspiration, Brent!
Loved these cookies. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any allspice, I replaced it with espresso powder to keep some of the complexity. Yummy.
Thank you, Kristine! Glad to hear it!
I just found this recipe (how have I missed it before) and I’m so happy I did! Amazing cookies, a slight crispy edge with a soft middle and a perfect punch of spice, these are to die for. I added some fresh grated ginger in with the other spices and it took them over the top!
Pure heaven, thanks for another keeper.
Thank you, Kate!
Hmmm… just found your blog recently and discovered this recipe. I’ve been using the same recipe from ’99 Cook’s Illustrated since, well, 1999! It doesn’t call for any egg, so I may have to shake things up a bit now! I think adding pepper is genius! Or, as one of the others said, some espresso powder. Thanks for the inspiration! Love your blog.
Did you remove the cloves after letting them simmer in the butter? Just made these — they are crazy sweet once you add the molasses! I would probably use about half the molasses next time.
The recipe calls for clove powder. Also, if you found these too sweet I would cut back on the sugar and add a bit more molasses. It’s the sugar that is making them sweet not the molasses. Just my opinion though ..
These cookies are DELICIOUS !! I love the addition of the turbinado sugar inside the cookies as it makes them pleasantly crunchy. Also, the cracked black pepper is perfect. I made these vegan by using coconut oil and a flaxseed & almond beverage slurry as an egg replacer. Chopped up some candied ginger and popped that into the batter too — these are so good. Every recipe I have tried from your website has been super delicious. Thank you Cookie & Kate.
Amazing cookies! I had to make some substitutions, but this recipe is forgiving.
-3tbsp regular white sugar for the turbinado sugar (using 2 tbsp in the recipe)
-3/4 bob’s redmill white whole wheat and 1/3c unbleached AP
-light brown sugar for dark
-spices used- cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and pumpkin pie spice (because it has allspice and cloves in it which I dont have)
next time I will take them out of the oven at 9/10min, instead of closer to 12. :-)
We added Sriracha to this recipe and it is so dang good!
These were fantastic! I swapped all the flour for Bob Red Mill’s gluten free blend + oat flour, and they turned out perfectly and made my kitchen smell like Christmas. Thanks Kate! These are now a family favorite.
Thank you for sharing your gluten free modifications!
I used whole wheat pastry flour and 1/3 cup of almond flour because I didn’t have whole wheat flour. My cookies didn’t rise, came out flat but still taste pretty good. Any thoughts on why they are flat? Almond flour substitute?
It would be the almond flour. It is a tricky flour and doesn’t work as a 1:1 substitute. Sorry they didn’t turn out.
One of my favorites! these cookies are awesome!
I’m glad you love them, Callen!
Wondering if anyone has made these with GF flour or almond flour?
I regret not doubling the recipe. These were soooo good & a nice, slightly ‘healthier’ dessert to have around the house!
Thanks for sharing, Hayley!
Oh. Yum! I made these yesterday and can’t stop eating them. The flavors and texture are outstanding! I followed the recipe with just one exception – I used 1/3 cup all purpose white flour and 3/4 cup whole wheat. They turned out slightly crunchy on outside and soft, chewy on inside…to me, just right. When I make these again (and I look forward to it!), I might not dip them in the sugar before baking. They would be delicious just the same..and my calorie-logic would be that I could always have just…one…more. Thanks for sharing this keeper! P.S. Always use freshest spices for best results!!
Love these! Am making them right now to take to a Christmas cookie exchange. They are crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. Taste perfect!
A great cookie for an exchange! Thanks for sharing, Amanda.
Oh so good! I just made these and the house smells heavenly. I’m making another batch to give as a gift.
Yumm!
Would I be able to sub the brown and white sugar for coconut sugar? I’m out of the sugars listed in the recipe and trying to save a trip to the store! Thanks!
Hi Quinn, I find baking is quite the science so changing them without testing them out I can’t say for sure.
I made these last year and my family loves them more than any other cookie we bake for the holidays! I’ve been asked to bring a new batch this Christmas. These are our favorite cookies and especially because it’s a little spicy!
Can i use spelt flour for these? judy
I haven’t tried these with spelt flour, sorry!
These are wonderful! I often crave something a little sweet after lunch or dinner, and these cookies are perfect. One cookie satisfies my sweet tooth without being too sweet at all. There is so much holiday smell and taste packed into each cookie, that by eating just one my tastebuds feel like they’ve gone to the moon and back with flavor and satisfaction. Wonderful recipe!!
I love gingerbread. The darker and spicier the better! My kids have been eating it since they were toddlers so all three love it too. To me its not the holiday season without it. Much better than sugar cookies in my opinion. I love this take on the classic gingerbread cookie. Must try!
I am OBSESSED with these cookies. They are possibly my all-time favorites. Not overly sweet and lots of flavor. Love love love them!
My goodness these were delicious. I was wondering about melting the butter and then infusing the spices in the butter for a minute or two, but wow, were they good. I didn’t roll them in sugar, but they were still incredible. Tender, full of flavor, with a little crunch on the outside. A perfect cookie! My only regret is not doubling the batch!!
Hi, Kate! I love this recipe. These cookies are a wonderful treat anytime of the year, though I love sharing them around Christmastime.
Thanks so much!
You’re welcome, Vanessa! I’m glad you enjoy them around the holidays.
Delicious! I made three separate batches and was the happiest with the last. The first round I followed the recipe exactly but they were overdone with a 9 min bake and 10 min on sheet. They also flattened quite a bit.
When I chilled the dough before baking they came out looking perfect. I only ended up needing 7 min bake time with 5 min on the cookie sheet to set (before moving to a cooling rack).
I did make these Molasses cookies. It looks like you have halved the recipe since I printed it out in November 2023. They turned out delicious. The batter was a bit too moist for the first ones into the oven so I just dropped teaspoons full on the cookie sheet. When the next batch was ready to go in the batter had firmed up and I could form the balls and sugar them. Balls were about 1 1/4” and the cookies are about 2 1/4” and required 9 minutes exactly. They are beautiful and very good molasses flavor without being too sweet. Made 44 cookies
Hi there, are these chewy or more on the crispy side?
Chewy. A bit crisp on the outside but overall chewy.
I love these!! I used local sorghum molasses and made a few minor changes to make it easier. I used all whole wheat flour (not pastry flour) and I used all raw sugar (no brown sugar) so I used a little more molasses than called for and a little less sugar. I didn’t roll them in the sugar, just sprinkled it on top. I’ll be making more of these! They were perfect!!
Wonderful to hear, Beth!
Amazing cookies!!!!
Came out perfect, even without the whole wheat pastry flour…
I will definitely make again!
I love to hear that, Julie!
Is it possible to use Whole Wheat Pastry Flour for all of the flour instead of a combo? I don’t have regular whole wheat flour. Also, could you substitute coconut palm sugar for the brown sugar?
Thanks!!
You could try it for the flour. I’m not sure on the sugar. If you try it, let me know how they turn out!
Thanks Kate! I subbed the regular whole wheat flour with Dark Rye Flour because that’s what I had and the cookies were more flat than yours but still absolutely delicious. I stuck with the brown sugar since it was just a couple of tablespoons. Thanks for another delicious recipe!
You’re welcome, Noami!
Amazing flavor and perfect texture.