The Ultimate Molasses Cookies Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the best molasses to use for cookies? ›

“Light molasses is the sweetest and mildest out of the bunch because it is made from the first boiling cycle,” she said. “I like to use this type of molasses because it adds moisture to cookies, resulting in a soft and chewy texture.”

Blackstrap Molasses

“Please avoid this dark and bitter molasses for your baking recipes,” she said. “It will make your cookies dry and quite frankly inedible.

Bake soft molasses cookies on a cookie sheet for 8-10 minutes. It's very important to not over bake the cookies or they will be hard and dry instead of soft and chewy. To check for doneness, open oven and gently push the side of a cookie with your finger or utensil.

Why don't my molasses cookies crack? Molasses cookie dough won't have those signature cracks on top if the dough is too wet. The cracks happen when the surface of the dough dries up. Rolling in sugar really helps this because the sugar binds the moisture and dries out the dough.

Unsulphured molasses can be light, dark or blackstrap, as long as it hasn't been treated with sulphur dioxide. Most commercially produced molasses is unsulphured.

Doubling up on molasses softened the cookies significantly.

Molasses is also extremely dark in color, so this batch of cookies turned out to be a deep brown.

Blackstrap molasses has a lead warning from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) because the processing of molasses infrequently involves using a direct flame with coals that may contain a high amount of the caustic substance potash. The soil in which the sugar cane grows may also contain lead.

After the end of World War I, refined sugar prices dropped drastically resulting in the migration of consumers from molasses to white sugar crystals.

Usulphured vs.

Sulphured molasses is molasses that has been treated with sulphur dioxide as a preservative. However, since the sulphuring process can leave the molasses with a strong pronounced chemical flavor and is less sweet, most commercial molasses is unsulphured.

Use fresh baking soda.

The baking soda causes the cookies to rise in the oven, then deflate slightly as they cool. This is what causes the cracks to form. If the baking soda is too old, it won't serve that purpose.

Why are my molasses cookies so flat? ›

The Problem: Your Oven Is Too Hot

If your cookies repeatedly turn out flat, no matter the recipe, chances are your oven is too hot. Here's what's happening. The butter melts super quickly in a too-hot oven before the other ingredients have firmed up into a cookie structure.

Baking powder or flour in excess will cause cookies to rise more, making them more fluffy and cakey. Increased sugar will make them caramelize more and increased fat will make the dough heavier and richer, all increasing retention of water in the dough- these all add up to chewier cookies.

Light, mild, or baking molasses ($11; Amazon) is what you get after the first boiling process. It's the sweetest of all types of molasses, because it has the most sugar left in it. It's most commonly used for desserts like molasses cookies, cakes, and gingerbread.

Gingersnaps typically have a crisp, snappy texture and a spicier, more pronounced ginger flavor, while molasses cookies are soft with a deeper, rich molasses flavor.

Light molasses is the liquid that remains after the first white sugar is extracted from cane juice. The flavor is lighter and has more fruity notes to it, in the same way the first pressing of olives makes a lighter, fruitier olive oil. Light (sometimes called "fancy") molasses is ideal for baked goods and candies.

Blackstrap Molasses contains more minerals than Supreme Baking Molasses because it is more concentrated as more sugar has been removed.

Regular (or Original or Mild) Molasses

This is your everyday molasses. It's the tamest in flavor and works well to boost other supporting flavors. Regular molasses is perfect for situations like pecan pie, where you want sweetness with depth to complement the brown sugar flavor.

Grandma's Molasses comes in two grades: Original and Robust. Original molasses: amber color, used to sweeten hot cereals, yogurts or hot drinks (like coffee, tea or cocoa).