As the crisp air and falling leaves usher in the holiday season, it's the perfect time to embrace the warmth and coziness of your kitchen. And what better way to do that than with a batch of frosted molasses cookies?
These delightful treats are a beloved classic, known for their rich, spicy flavors and comforting chewiness. This recipe is an old one, from my mom, which I have adapted very slightly.
In this blog post, we'll explore the wonders of frosted molasses cookies, providing you with an easy-to-follow recipe and plenty of tips and variations to make them your own.
Why You’ll Love this Recipe
Molasses cookies are a classic, for a reason. The warm sweet spices and chewy texture make them the perfect cookie to welcome the fall season.
This version also includes a sweet, creamy frosting. It adds a layer of decadence that perfectly balances the warm spices of the cookie. It's the icing on the cookie, so to speak!
Ingredients Needed
**Be sure to scroll to the recipe card for detailed quantities and directions**
⏲️How to make these Frosted Molasses Cookies
Cream together softened butter and sugar with a hand mixer. Mix on high speed for about 2 minutes. The mixture should appear smooth, light, and creamy.
Now add the molasses and egg and mix in on low speed.
Mix the spices in with the flour, then add a little to the batter. As the flour gets mixed in, continue adding more flour while alternating with some of the coffee. Continue until all the flour and coffee are mixed into the cookie dough.
Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least an hour to chill the dough.
Preheat your oven to 350F and line one or two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Using a small cookie scoop, drop the dough onto the prepared baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches between. The cookie scoop I use holds one tablespoon, but you can also use a rounded teaspoon (the old fashioned way!) to get the same quantity of dough.
Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes. The cookies should be set but still slightly soft in the middle. Remove the cookie sheet from the oven and let the cookies cool on the sheet for at least 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Repeat with the remaining cookie dough.
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Once the cookies have cooled completely, it’s time to frost. Make a simple frosting of powdered sugar and milk, adjusted to a spreadable thickness. Then frost each cookie with frosting to taste. You could drizzle just a little bit on each cookie, but I went all-in on the frosting! #sweettooth
🥛Serving Suggestions
Frosted molasses cookies are delightful on their own, but they can be paired with any of your favorite beverages such as hot cocoa, coffee, or even a cold glass of milk.
They also make fantastic additions to holiday cookie platters and are perfect for sharing with friends and family during festive gatherings.
🍪Substitutions and Variations
If you love fall spices, add a little cinnamon to this cookie dough. One teaspoon will be just enough to add another level of flavor.
You can deepen the flavor even more by using brown sugar instead of white granulated sugar.
This recipe makes a LOT! 7 dozen cookies! But you could make fewer, larger cookies by portioning the dough with a medium cookie scoop. You'll need to adjust the baking time if you do this.
As I noted above, you can go easy on the frosting by using just a drizzle on each cookie (make the frosting thinner for this) but you could also choose to enjoy them unfrosted. They are a delightfully warm spiced cookie all on their own. 🍪
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can prepare the cookie dough and refrigerate it for up to 24 hours before baking.
Mom’s original recipe specified light molasses, but my local grocery store only stocks one kind, which I think would be considered light molasses. It was fine, the only kind I wouldn't recommend is blackstrap molasses as it might be too strong for these cookies.
📖 Recipe
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Frosted Molasses Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter softened (2 sticks)
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- 1 egg large
- 1 cup molasses
- ½ cup coffee cooled to room temperature
- 5 ½ cups flour all-purpose
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ginger ground
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg ground
- ½ teaspoon cloves ground
Instructions
- With a hand mixer, cream together softened butter and sugar by mixing on high speed for about 2 minutes.1 cup butter, 1 ½ cups sugar
- Add the molasses and egg and mix on low speed.1 egg, 1 cup molasses
- Whisk the spices with the flour, then add a little to the batter. Use the hand mixer on low speed, and as the flour gets mixed in, continue adding more flour while alternating with some of the coffee. Continue until all the flour and coffee are mixed into the dough.5 ½ cups flour, 2 teaspoons baking soda, 2 teaspoons ginger, ½ teaspoon nutmeg, ½ teaspoon cloves, ½ cup coffee
- Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least an hour to chill the dough.
- Preheat your oven to 350F and line one or two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Using a small cookie scoop, drop about a tablespoon of dough at a time onto the prepared baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches between.
- Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes. The cookies should be set but still slightly soft in the middle. Remove the cookie sheet from the oven and let the cookies cool on the sheet for at least 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.
- Repeat with the remaining cookie dough.
- Once the cookies have cooled completely, mix up a simple frosting. I started with 2 cups powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons milk, then adjusted to get the best consistency. I ended up repeating this amount to frost all the cookies, but it does depend upon how thick you like your frosting.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition values are estimates only, using online calculators. Please verify using your own data.
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