Molasses spice cookies are soft, crackled cookies rolled in palm sugar with a warm hit of ginger, cloves, and black pepper. Blackstrap molasses gives them their dark colour and deep, slightly bitter sweetness. They bake up puffy and crinkled — the cookie that makes the kitchen smell like a holiday.
MAKES 24 COOKIES
Ingredients
⅔ cup palm sugar, divided
2¼ cups almond flour
1 teaspoon (5 ml) baking soda
1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
1½ teaspoons ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon ground allspice
¼ teaspoon pepper
¼ teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons (75 ml) coconut oil, softened
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract
½ cup light or blackstrap molasses
Preparation
1.В В Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Spread ⅓ cup of palm sugar into a shallow dish for rolling. In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, spices, pepper, and salt together.
2.В В In a separate large bowl, beat the coconut oil and remaining ⅓ cup palm sugar together with an electric mixer on medium speed for about 30 seconds or until well combined. Beat in the egg yolk and vanilla until combined (about 30 seconds). Beat in the molasses until incorporated (about 30 seconds), scraping down the bowl and beaters as needed.
3.В В Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly add the flour mixture, beating until combined (about 30 seconds). The dough will be soft.
4.В В Working with two tablespoons at a time, roll the dough into balls with wet hands, then coat with the palm sugar. Place balls on the prepared baking sheets, spaced about two inches apart.
5.В В Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, until the edges are set and beginning to brown, and the centers are still soft and puffy (10 to 12 minutes), rotating each baking sheet halfway through baking. (The cookies will look raw between the cracks and seem underdone.)
6.В В Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes. Serve warm or transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.
Pro Tips
- Roll the dough balls in the reserved palm sugar generously — that crust is what creates the crackled, glittering surface as they puff and settle.
- The pepper is not a typo. A quarter teaspoon gives a slow warmth behind the ginger and cloves that plain spice cookies never have.
- Pull them at ten to twelve minutes while the centres still look raw; molasses cookies overbake into hard pucks with startling speed.
- Beat the egg yolk in fully before the molasses goes in — a properly emulsified base gives the cookies their signature soft, chewy centre.
Frequently Asked Questions
Light or blackstrap molasses — which is better?
Light molasses gives a sweeter, milder cookie; blackstrap gives a deeper, more bittersweet one. Both work — pick by how bold you like your spice cookies.
Why did my cookies turn out hard?
Almost always overbaking. They should look underdone when pulled from the oven and firm up as they cool on the sheet.
Can I freeze the dough?
Yes — roll the balls in sugar and freeze on a tray, then bake from frozen at 375°F, adding one or two minutes to the time.
How do I keep them soft?
Store them airtight with a slice of apple or bread in the tin. The extra moisture keeps molasses cookies soft for a full week.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
Method
- 1. В В Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 375°F.
- Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Spread ⅓ cup of palm sugar into a shallow dish for rolling.
- In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, spices, pepper, and salt together. 2. В В In a separate large bowl, beat the coconut oil and remaining ⅓ cup palm sugar together with an electric mixer on medium speed for about 30 seconds or until well combined.
- Beat in the egg yolk and vanilla until combined (about 30 seconds).
- Beat in the molasses until incorporated (about 30 seconds), scraping down the bowl and beaters as needed. 3. В В Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly add the flour mixture, beating until combined (about 30 seconds). The dough will be soft. 4. В В Working with two tablespoons at a time, roll the dough into balls with wet hands, then coat with the palm sugar.
- Place balls on the prepared baking sheets, spaced about two inches apart. 5. В В Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, until the edges are set and beginning to brown, and the centers are still soft and puffy (10 to 12 minutes), rotating each baking sheet halfway through baking. (The cookies will look raw between the cracks and seem underdone.) 6. В В Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes.
- Serve warm or transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.
