BAKE: Soft Blackstrap Molasses Spice Cookies

• Ingredients for Blackstrap Molasses Spice Cookies
• Kitchen equipment needed
• How to Make Soft Molasses Spice Cookies
• Soft Blackstrap Molasses Spice Drop Cookies

These soft, tender blackstrap molasses cookies are so easy, even if you’re a beginner at baking! It’s a simple drop cookie recipe that you can whip up in just a few minutes.

No mixer required, no butter to cream, or dough to roll, you can make these on a whim and be done in less than thirty minutes.

Just measure, stir, scoop, and bake!

These molasses cookies are tender and soft, and stay that way for days… if they last that long! I’m still trying to figure it out… they’re never around for more than two or three days in our house, though they’ll certainly stay fresh for longer as long as you keep them in an airtight tin or container.

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Ingredients for Blackstrap Molasses Spice Cookies

Flour:

All-purpose white flour, preferably unbleached, or a blend of all-purpose and whole wheat flour.

Sugar:

We use granulated white sugar in these cookies. You could substitute turbinado (Sugar in the Raw) sugar, but not brown sugar.

Eggs:

Use one fresh whole egg. Eggs provide structure and are the binder that holds this dough together. They’re also a good source of protein, which makes this a healthy, balanced breakfast, right? I mean, if you’re having cookies for breakfast, you could do worse than these!

Molasses:

For the richest tasting cookies, use a dark blackstrap molasses. You can substitute regular molasses or dark treacle for a milder tasting cookie, but blackstrap will give the cookies a fuller flavor, as well as being full of minerals.

Blackstrap molasses is a good source of calcium and iron, as well as micro-nutrients like copper, manganese, and potassium. That still doesn’t exactly make these cookies “health food”, but it can’t hurt, right?

Buttermilk:

Use full-fat cultured buttermilk if you can get it, or substitute whole milk with a spoonful of lemon or white vinegar stirred in a few minutes before mixing your dough.

The acid in the buttermilk or soured milk reacts with the baking soda to make these cookies extra tender, and gives a pleasant tang that contrasts well with the treacle-y sweetness of the molasses and sugar.

Butter:

I used unsalted butter in these cookies. If you use salted butter, you may want to reduce the salt to 1/4 tsp.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat, or in a heat-resistant bowl or measuring cup in the microwave. Let cool slightly before combining with the egg, milk, molasses, and sugar.

Baking Soda:

The baking soda reacts with the buttermilk or sour milk and the slightly acidic molasses to make these cookies soft, light, and fluffy.

Spices:

Ground cinnamon, ginger, and cloves add a sweet spice to these cookies that adds another layer of complexity to the deep molasses flavor.

Salt:

Baked goods without salt taste flat. There’s a small amount in this recipe, but it’s important. I use kosher salt, sea salt, or Himalayan pink salt.

Try sprinkling the tops of the unbaked molasses cookies with a hint of flaky sea salt for a salty-sweet treat!

Kitchen equipment needed

Mixing bowl and spoon:

Medium to large mixing bowl and a sturdy wooden spoon or spatula. You don’t need a mixer for this quick and simple dough- it’s easy to mix by hand and comes together quickly.

Baking sheet and liner:

I prefer baking on plain, uncoated half sheet pans, lined with parchment or silicone nonstick baking sheets. You can use nonstick baking or cookie sheets if you prefer, or grease your cookie sheets with pan spray.

Cookie Scoop:

While you can just drop these cookies by the tablespoon onto your cookie sheets, the soft dough is easiest to portion with a cookie scoop. I used a #50 scoop, and get about 33 cookies per batch.

How to Make Soft Molasses Spice Cookies

Prep ingredients:

• Assemble all ingredients.
• Preheat the oven to 375℉.

Mix sugars & wet ingredients:

• In a large bowl, or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the sugar, molasses, melted butter, egg, and buttermilk. Stir or mix well to combine.

Sift dry ingredients:

• Mix the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, salt, and spices) in a medium mixing bowl, using a whisk or spatula to incorporated all ingredients together completely.

Combine to make soft dough:

• Add the dry ingredients, a half cup at a time, gently stirring between additions until all the flour mixture is added .
• Mix gently, using a folding motion, until dry and wet ingredients are mixed into what will be a thick batter or very wet soft cookie dough.

Scoop cookies:

• Line baking sheets with parchment or silicone baking mat, or grease your cookie sheets (if your pans aren’t non-stick).
• Until you are acquainted with this cookie dough, you may want to bake a test cookie first. If they spread too much, add an additional tablespoon of flour to the dough.
• Scoop batter by tablespoons or with a cookie scoop onto a baking sheet using a spoon or cookie scoop. Leave plenty of room between the cookies for them to spread (this will vary with the size of your cookie scoop, but I get about 9-11 cookies per half-sheet pan).
• If you’d like, sprinkle the tops of the unbaked cookies with decorative sprinkles, pearl sugar, or coarse demerara sugar before baking.

Bake molasses drop cookies:

• Bake in preheated oven for 12-15 minutes, removing the pans when the tops are set and gently rounded, and beginning to darken a bit on the edges.
• They will firm up slightly as they cool.

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