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Chewy Chocolate Ginger Molasses Cookies …because even though it’s still November, I am totally ready for Christmas cookies.
Christmas cookies with plenty of chocolate too, because if you’re going to add chocolate…you might as well go all out.
Okay, fine. You don’t have to add chocolate, but let’s be real, these ginger cookies are a million and one times better with the addition of a generous drizzle of chocolate…or chocolate dip.
Whatever you prefer.
I know it may be slightly early (or not..depends on how you feel about Christmas…and cookies) to be circulating Christmas cookie recipes, but before you know it December 25th will be here and we need to be prepared. Plus, I have a major goal to actually send out my annual Christmas Cookie gift boxes this year, so I need to start compiling my list of cookies to include in the boxes. I wasn’t prepared/organized enough last year and I never got out all of the boxes I wanted to. Determined to not let that happen again this year, so today we’re talking cookies.
Who is ready?
Every holiday season I pick a good amount of sweets to share with you guys. In previous years I’ve shared plenty of cookie recipes, cakes, and more. This year will be no different. I have so many recipes I want to share. When I was trying to decide what to make from my list of ideas I was kind of at a loss. I literally have a google doc page a mile long with holiday desserts. I stared at my computer screen forever before I finally decided to just send my list off to my family and have them pick their favorites.
Thankfully my family is awesome (except when they picked on me at Thanksgiving and I just wasn’t in the mood…thanks guys). and was more than willing to help…and taste test.
Obviously.
Lyndsie responded first and I almost always agree with her choices, so I went with her selections and didn’t think twice about it. It was no surprise that these ginger cookies were at the top of Lyn’s list. She also said I should make apple tarts and fruit crumbles, but those don’t feel very festive to me. Hmmm.
Anyway, Brendan and Lyndsie love ginger like no other, I’ve seen Lyn’s eat it straight up. It’s was weird.
As soon as I put this cookie on the list, I knew they’d insist I make it right away. So I did. Not going to lie, I was a little skeptical as to whether or not I’d love the combo of chocolate and ginger, but you know, it’s kind of delicious.
Not kind of delicious. Like really, really, really delicious.
These cookies are soft, chewy, filled with molasses and a good amount of ginger, plus sweet and chocolatey…basically they’re just all things perfection.
Honest. These cookies are some of the best ever. Especially if eaten when slightly warm and right after being drizzled with chocolate. Ahh? Christmas cookie heaven? Yup.
A few important things. The one thing that really sets these cookies apart from other molasses based cookies is the use of salted butter and molasses. I know there are many people who don’t like to bake with salted butter. However, I actually prefer it, especially when baking cookies. Using salted butter gives your cookies a specialness that you just can’t get from adding in a pinch of salt. I know that sounds stupid, but salted butter is the way to go.
I also use a bit more molasses than most molasses cookie recipes call for. When I set out to make these cookies, I really wanted them to be extremely chewy. I also really wanted to have the molasses taste shine through. So, I upped the amount of molasses and added vanilla extract to highlight the molasses and ginger flavors. The result was a perfectly moist and chewy molasses cookie with hints of vanilla and ginger throughout.
For the final steps, the cookies are rolled through coarse sugar, baked (be sure to not over bake these, under baking is always, always best), and then drizzled or dunked into chocolate. As mentioned, eating these cookies warm, with melted chocolate is something I’d highly recommend trying.
Or let the chocolate set, package them up, and send them off in a cookie box. Either way, you’ll find yourself making (and eating) these cookies all December long.
Who’s up for a little Tuesday night baking? These take no time at all, so I’m thinking it’s a cookie before dinner kind of night…
Chewy Chocolate Ginger Molasses Cookies
Servings: 26 cookies
Calories Per Serving: 120 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 sticks salted butter, at room temperature, plus more for greasing
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 1/3 cup blackstrap molasses
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- coarse sugar, for rolling
- 8 ounces milk or semi-sweet chocolate, melted
Instructions
- 1. Position an oven rack in the upper 1/3 of the oven. Preheat the oven to 375° F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. 2. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Add the egg and molasses and mix until evenly combined. Add the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, and salt, beating until combined and a dough forms. 3. Place the coarse sugar in a small bowl. 4. Lightly rub your hands with butter. Roll the dough into tablespoon size balls and roll through the coarse sugar (if the dough is too sticky, chill for 20 minutes). Place on the prepared baking sheet, spacing the cookies 2 inches apart. Transfer to the oven and bake for 8-10 minutes or until the cookies are just starting to set around the edges, the centers should be a little doughy. Let cool on the pan 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.5. Drizzle or dip each cookie in chocolate. Let the chocolate set at room temp, about 1 hour. Store in an air-tight container for up to 4 days.
Just the way my mom taught me.
Lastly, if you make these Chewy Chocolate Ginger Molasses Cookies, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Can I refrigerate the dough for a day?
Will that mess up anything?
HI! Yes, you can keep the dough in the fridge for up to 3 days before baking. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you and happy holidays! xTieghan
Hi, Tiegan,
I was hoping for a chewy cookie, but mine came out cakey as well (like a lot of reviewers reported)
Is there really 2 full teaspoons of baking soda in the recipe (as written)? I’m wondering if this was a typo, because that seems like a lot for the amount of dough. (I’m used to putting about 1/2 tsp for about 2 cups of flour) Could that be the reason the cookies are cakey?
Hi Dani, I just made these other day without any issues, but will test the recipe again with less baking soda to see if that could be an issues. In the meantime, I would recommend removing the pan from the oven and taping the baking sheet on the counter 2 times to flatten them down once they have completed cooking. This will immediately deflate the cookies and leave you with a chewy cookie. Also, it could be that you are slightly over baking the cookies as well. Try cooking 1 minute less and see how that goes. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you and happy holidays! xTieghan
Just made these and they are amazing! Planning to take these to work for a Christmas Cookie Exchange but I had to test them for myself first! 🙂
YES! I would have done the same thing! I hope everyone loves these, Deanna! Thank you! xTieghan
Love these cookies!! I was looking for a molasses cookie recipe that reminded me of cookies I had as a kid in Colonial Williamsburg- these are the closest that I have found. Chewy, molassasy, crunchy (from the coarse sugar) and chocolatey creamy – the best of ALL worlds! I did share some, the few left over from my husband and I, and the recipients immediately demanded the recipe! Lol!! Will be making them over and over again this holiday season!
I am so glad these are similar and remind you of some good memories! Thank you so much Tacykate! xTieghan
These are some of the best cookies I’ve ever made in my life. THANK YOU!
That is so great to hear!! Thank you Lauren! xTieghan
Just made these for a second time – they’re now part of my family’s Christmas cookie collection! Wonderful recipe, thanks for sharing 🙂
Thank you Anna! I am so glad you loved these cookies!
Hi Tiegan, I made these cookies to give to my kids teachers and let me tell you, they are beyond delicious! I and not a fan of cloves in molasses cookies which most of the molasses cookie recipies call for and was happy to see that you used cardamom instead. What a game changer! They had a wonderful spice flavour which paired really well with the dark chocolate. This one is a keeper! Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe Tiegan! Happy holidays!
Hi Sylvie! Thank you for making these cookies! I am so glad they turned out amazing for you!
I made these cookies. The flavor is GREAT! Very soft. But they are flat as pancakes. I had to chill them over an hour and use less dough as they spread out so much. ?
Hi Megan! I am so glad these tasted amazing! Are there any questions I could help you with so they turn out better next time? Please let me know!
Would these cookies freeze well? I’m planning to make them for Christmas and am trying to determine what I can make this coming weekend so it’s pretty much ready to go.
HI! Yes, these cookies freeze very well. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much!! xTieghan ?
These cookies are fantastic and “just as they should be” as my boyfriend said. They are chewy and thick and scrumptious!
Hi Tessa! I am so glad you loved these cookies so much! Thank you so much!
Hi Tieghan! I would love to make this recipe for a cookie exchange, but was only able to find “regular” molasses at the store. Would you recommend reducing the amount of brown sugar used to compensate for this? Thanks!
HI! Regular molasses will be totally fine! No need to reduce the brown sugar. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much!! xTieghan ?
Made these tonight and they were so easy and super delicious! The only I’d add for my personal taste would be more ginger because I like a lot of spice but this was perfectly well balanced and definitely the chocolate took it next level. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you so much Cory! I am so glad you enjoyed these cookies!
Hey Tieghan! I made this recipe last year and LOVED it. I recently moved to Colorado (your Home base—yay!) and am wondering if you have any tips for adjusting baking recipes for the altitude? I haven’t done much baking since moving here, but the one batch of cookies I made didn’t turn out well (and I consider myself something of a cookie master so it was highly disappointing). I love your blog so much and while this is my first time writing in, I’ve been following along for years!
Hi Sarah! My recipes should work great for you at the altitude, but if you find any problems or have questions about specific recipes please shoot me an email! I am so glad you love my blog and I hope you LOVE Colorado! Thank you!
These look amazing!! Any tips for using regular butter? Also, I’ll be baking at altitude in Colorado, so any changes you would recommend? Thanks!
Just add 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt to the cookies. I am in CO so, no adjustments needed for the recipe! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much!! xTieghan
These cookies are probably the best cookies I have ever made! I realized after having done so that I accidentally added baking powder instead of baking soda like the recipe calls for, so I just added a teaspoon of baking soda in addition to the 2 teaspoons of powder I had already used & they still somehow turned out wonderful. I also used fancy molasses versus the blackstrap that is called for because that’s what I had on hand. They were more “cakey”/fluffy than flat/chewy but I liked them so much that way that I wouldn’t want to change the texture at all. That being said though, next time I will only do a half roll through the turbinado sugar, as I found doing a full roll gave the outside of the cookies just a little too much crunch. These cookies taste amazing & with the chocolate drizzle & turbinado sugar decorating the tops, they are also incredibly beautiful!
I am so happy you loved these Jessica and that they turned out amazing for you! Thank you!