Bakery Style Molasses Cookies Recipe

5 from 8 votes

Bakery Style Molasses Cookies Recipe

Bakery-style jumbo molasses cookies are crisp on the outside, chewy on the inside, and feature a unique, melt-in-your-mouth sugar coating. These cookies smell and taste like cinnamon, ginger, and cloves, and stay soft for days.

Prep Time10

Cook Time12

Total Time22

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: cookies

Calories: 268kcal

Author: Brandy Nelson

Ingredients

Cookie Dough

½ cup shortening
½ cup salted butter softened
¾ cup brown sugar packed
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
⅓ cup molasses
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 ½ teaspoons ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
3 ¼ cups all-purpose flour* fluff then scoop

Sugar Coating

⅓ cup granulated sugar for rolling
2 tablespoon granulated sugar to sprinkle on top
1 Tbsp. powdered sugar to sprinkle on top

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
Add ⅓ cup granulated sugar to a small bowl. Set aside.
Add 2 Tbsp. granulated sugar and 1 Tbsp. powdered sugar to another small bowl. Set aside.
Combine shortening, butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar in a large mixing bowl. Mix with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy.
Add molasses, egg, and vanilla extract. Mix.
Add cinnamon, ginger, cloves, salt, and baking soda. Mix.
Add flour, 1 cup at a time, and mix until just combined.
Scoop dough into 3 tablespoon-sized balls.
Place a cookie dough ball into the small bowl of granulated sugar, roll around, then flatten slightly into a hockey puck shape. Repeat for all cookies.
Place cookie dough pucks on a baking sheet, 6-8 cookies per sheet.
Sprinkle the tops of the cookies with a thin layer of the powdered sugar/granulated sugar mixture.
Bake cookies for 12 minutes (see baking chart in notes section for adjustments for smaller or larger cookies).
Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet.

Video

Notes

*For a slightly thicker cookie, use 3 ½ cups of flour.

Baking Adjustments

2 Tbsp. scoop: Bake for 10-11 minutes. Makes 30 cookies.
3 Tbsp. scoop: Bake for 12-13 minutes. Makes 20 cookies.
4 tablespoon scoop (¼ cup): Bake for 14-15 minutes. Makes 15 cookies.

I bake with light baking sheets, so my recipe times reflect that. If your cookie sheets are dark, you may need to adjust the baking time by baking the cookies for a shorter period.

Nutrition