These chewy ginger molasses cookies are flavored with cinnamon, ginger, and a touch of cloves and nutmeg, then finished with icing that can be piped into delicate snowflake designs. They’re an easy, old-fashioned holiday cookie that looks impressive but comes together quickly.
This recipe requires no chilling or smashing, so it’s perfect for baking ahead and freezing—either as raw dough balls or as baked cookies. The result is a soft, chewy cookie reminiscent of classic molasses cookies, and you can adapt the thickness to suit your decoration style: make them thinner for crisper edges and easier icing, or a bit thicker and fluffier if you prefer.
These cookies are great for baking with kids, bringing to a holiday cookie swap, or turning into cookie bars if you want an even faster option. The snowflake icing is optional—if you’re short on time, simply drizzle the icing over each cookie for a quick, pretty finish.
What To Expect
- Taste: Soft, chewy molasses cookies with a warm spice profile—cinnamon and ginger are prominent while molasses and brown sugar provide moisture and depth.
- Ease: Simple to mix and bake. Dough balls are rolled in granulated sugar before baking, then iced after cooling. The snowflake design is optional—drizzling the icing saves time.
- Time: About 5–10 minutes to prepare the dough (no chilling), 8–10 minutes to bake, and roughly 20–30 minutes to pipe and set the icing, depending on your speed.
Key Ingredients
- Sugars: A mix of brown sugar and granulated sugar creates the ideal texture; powdered sugar is used for the icing.
- Molasses: Adds moisture and that classic flavor—acts like very dark brown sugar in the dough.
- Egg: Binds the dough and helps keep the cookies soft and chewy.
- Flour: All-purpose flour provides structure; other flours were not tested.
- Spices: Ground cinnamon and ginger with a hint of cloves and nutmeg for balance.
- Baking soda: Leavening agent that helps the cookies spread and reach the right texture.
See the recipe card below for exact quantities.
Substitutions & Variations
- Sugar: Coconut sugar can replace the brown and granulated sugars in the dough. Turbinado or raw sugar is excellent for rolling the dough balls before baking.
- Molasses alternative: Some bakers substitute pure maple syrup with good results—try it if you prefer a milder molasses note.
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 °F and line baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. A mat tends to limit spread and yields slightly thicker cookies.
- Step 1. Cream the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar in a stand mixer or with a hand mixer until fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- Step 2. Add the egg, vanilla, and salt; mix about 1 minute until incorporated and slightly fluffy.
- Step 3. Mix in the cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and molasses until the molasses is evenly distributed.
- Step 4. Add the flour and baking soda and mix until there are no dry pockets, about 1 minute.
- Step 5. Scoop or roll the dough into balls (about 1.5 tablespoons) and roll each in granulated sugar.
- Step 6. Arrange on the prepared sheet and bake at 350 °F for 8–10 minutes; 9 minutes is often ideal for a soft, chewy center.
- Step 7. For the icing, whisk powdered sugar with milk and vanilla until smooth. Transfer to a small piping bag or zip-top bag and snip a tiny corner.
- Step 8. Pipe an “X” on each cooled cookie, then add a line horizontally or vertically to form a six-branch star.
- Step 9. Add a small dot in the center of each triangle formed by the star.
- Step 10. Pipe a small “V” at the tip of each branch to complete the snowflake arms.
- Step 11 (optional). Before the icing sets, gently dip cookies in granulated sugar to add a crystal snow effect—take care not to press the design.
Allow the icing to harden for 30 minutes to an hour before stacking or freezing. If you prefer, drizzle the icing instead of piping snowflakes for a simpler finish. Enjoy!
Top Tips & Hacks
- Use slightly less flour (about 3 1/4 cups) for thinner, flatter cookies that make piping larger snowflakes easier. More flour yields thicker cookies.
- A small hole cut in a zip-top bag works fine for piping; use a piping bag with a fine tip for cleaner lines if you want neater snowflakes.
- If you don’t have individual spices, 2 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice can be used as a convenient substitute.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Chilled dough will be firmer and slightly harder to scoop, and the cookies will spread less. For convenience, you can shape dough into balls and freeze them for easy baking later.
Room temperature: Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Frozen: Cookies or dough freeze well for up to 3 months.
Yes. Place sugared dough balls on a tray for 30 minutes to flash-freeze, then transfer them to a freezer-safe container or bag for up to 3 months.
Bake frozen dough at 350 °F for about 12–14 minutes on a prepared cookie sheet.
More Favorite Holiday Cookie Recipes
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German Chocolate Cookies
-
Maple Pecan Cookies
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Caramel Stuffed Snickerdoodles
-
Cherry Chocolate Cheesecake Cookies
Did You Try This Recipe? Please leave a star rating and a comment. Sharing feedback helps other bakers and is much appreciated.
Printable Recipe
Iced Molasses Cookies
Soft, chewy molasses cookies spiced with cinnamon and ginger, finished with a simple powdered-sugar icing that can be piped into snowflakes.
Ingredients
- 1 cup salted butter, room temperature (226 g)
- 3/4 cup white granulated sugar (160 g)
- 3/4 cup brown sugar (160 g)
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon salt (7 g)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (3 g)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger (1½ g)
- 1/4 teaspoon ground clove
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/3 cup molasses (105 g)
- 3½ cups all-purpose flour (485 g)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda (6 g)
- 1/2 cup extra granulated sugar for rolling (80 g)
For the icing:
- 1½ cups powdered sugar (195 g)
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1–2 tablespoons milk, or as needed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 °F. Line baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.
- Cream butter with white and brown sugar until fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- Add egg, vanilla, and salt; mix about 1 minute until combined.
- Stir in spices and molasses until evenly mixed.
- Add flour and baking soda; mix until no dry pockets remain.
- Scoop or roll dough into 1.5-tablespoon balls and roll in granulated sugar.
- Arrange on baking sheets and bake 8–10 minutes at 350 °F (9 minutes is ideal for a soft center).
- Mix powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla until smooth; place in a piping bag and snip a tiny corner.
- Pipe an “X” on each cookie, add a line to make a six-branch star, then dot each triangle and add small “V” tips to each branch to form snowflakes.
- Optional: Lightly dip iced cookies in granulated sugar before the icing sets for a frosted crystal look.
- Let icing harden for 30 minutes to 1 hour before stacking or freezing.
Notes
Makes about 3 dozen cookies. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days, or freeze dough or baked cookies for up to 3 months.
Nutrition (per cookie)
Calories: 102 kcal • Carbohydrates: 23 g • Protein: 1 g • Fat: 1 g • Sugar: 17 g