This Thick Molasses Spice Cookies Recipe From Smitten Kitchen Has Sugar And Spice And Everything Nice
A handful of spices—plus a kick from black pepper—makes these handheld treats irresistible!
19 years ago, Deb Perleman created Smitten Kitchen, the wildly popular recipe site. She wanted a place to share all of her cooking adventures from her tiny NY kitchen. Smitten Kitchen’s Thick Molasses Spice Cookies recipe comes from one of Deb’s best-selling cookbooks, Smitten Kitchen Keepers. Her classic combo of ginger, cinnamon, cloves and allspice is rounded out with pepper and molasses. I am a giant fan of gingersnaps and other spice cookies and Deb’s cookies are really top notch.
I don’t just stop at cookies when I think of rich, spiced treats! Any time of year is a good time for this flavor profile; and our Gingerbread Pancakes are extra-delicious on cool Fall mornings. The key to keeping Smitten Kitchen’s Thick Molasses Spice Cookies recipe and our pancakes moist is molasses. If you think molasses has a strong flavor, try using a light molasses. It is not cooked as long and is sweeter than traditional molasses.
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Ingredients
- 21/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp. ground ginger
- 3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp. ground cloves
- 1/4 tsp. ground allspice
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted, cooled
- 1/2 cup molasses
- 2/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 1 large egg yolk
- 3 Tbs. chopped crystallized ginger
- 6 Tbs. turbinado sugar, for rolling
Instructions
PrintHeat oven to 350°F. Line large baking sheet with parchment. Whisk flour, spices, baking soda, salt and pepper in bowl until fully mixed. Make well in center of dry ingredients. Pour in butter, molasses, brown sugar, yolk and crystallized ginger. Whisk in center a few times (until egg is blended); then switch to spoon to continue mixing. Dough will be thick!
Scoop into balls—try a cookie scoop (11⁄2 Tbs.) or take just shy of 2 Tbs. dough for each. Roll in your hands to shape into a ball, then into turbinado sugar to coat. Space cookies evenly on parchment-lined sheet, and bake for 10–12 min. You want what looks like an underbaked cookie. It will feel soft on top; you will be sure it’s raw. But if you lift a cookie, you’ll see that it’s one shade darker underneath. They’re done. Remove from oven and let cookies cool 5 min. before transferring to rack. The cookies set as they cool. If you cut into one too soon, you’ll yell, “Deb! These are raw in the middle! How could you?” But after they rest, you will have a more cookie-like perfect texture—crisp outside and tender inside.
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