Soft Chocolate Molasses Cookies Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to making cookies soft and chewy? ›

Cornstarch helps product soft and thick cookies. Using more brown sugar than white sugar results in a moister, softer cookie. An extra egg yolk increases chewiness. Rolling the cookie dough balls to be tall and lumpy instead of wide and smooth gives the cookies a bakery-style textured thickness.

Soft-baked cookies are often made using a solid fat with a higher melting point, which prevents the cookie from spreading while baking. The result is a thicker, softer, chewier cookie. Another simple trick for softer cookies is to use chilled dough.

Why don't my molasses cookies crack? Molasses cookie dough won't have those signature cracks on top if the dough is too wet. The cracks happen when the surface of the dough dries up. Rolling in sugar really helps this because the sugar binds the moisture and dries out the dough.

Gingersnaps typically have a crisp, snappy texture and a spicier, more pronounced ginger flavor, while molasses cookies are soft with a deeper, rich molasses flavor.

Some folks swear that placing a slice of white bread (or a flour tortilla) in the container with the cookies will keep cookies softer for longer.

Ingredients to Keep Cookies Soft

Butter is more than 15% water, so it plays a role in making cookies soft by adding water and fat, which contributes flavor and tenderness. Melting the butter you're using can make the cookie softer.

Use Melted Butter

If the goal is a chewy cookie, then you absolutely need to be using melted butter. The technique of creaming softened butter and sugar together is often used for making cakes. And for good reason! The process of creaming incorporates air into the butter which results in a more airy and cakey cookie.

Brown sugar

Brown sugar is also hygroscopic (more so than granulated sugar) and will therefore also attract and absorb the liquid in the dough. The difference is in the molasses that makes brown sugar brown: It adds moisture and slight acidity, resulting in a moist and chewy texture.

Baking soda is typically used for chewy cookies, while baking powder is generally used for light and airy cookies. Since baking powder is comprised of a number of ingredients (baking soda, cream of tartar, cornstarch, etc.), using it instead of pure baking soda will affect the taste of your cookies.

Doubling up on molasses softened the cookies significantly.

Molasses is also extremely dark in color, so this batch of cookies turned out to be a deep brown.

How to get cracks in molasses cookies? ›

Use fresh baking soda.

The baking soda causes the cookies to rise in the oven, then deflate slightly as they cool. This is what causes the cracks to form. If the baking soda is too old, it won't serve that purpose.

Light Molasses

How to use it: This is the most commonly sold molasses, mostly used in baking. Light molasses helps to make cookies softer and bread crustier, and it can also be used in marinades and sauces.

Bake soft molasses cookies on a cookie sheet for 8-10 minutes. It's very important to not over bake the cookies or they will be hard and dry instead of soft and chewy. To check for doneness, open oven and gently push the side of a cookie with your finger or utensil.

Chocolate chip cookies

What is the most popular type of cookie? It might just be this one. Ever the crowd-pleaser, the chocolate chip cookie is renowned for its balance of richness and sweetness.

What Is the Best Type of Molasses for Cookies? There are three types of molasses, two of which are suitable for molasses cookies: light molasses and dark molasses. Choose dark molasses for a darker color and stronger molasses flavor, but if all you can find is light molasses, that will work, too.

Water in the butter will aid in leavening the cookie during baking and any remaining water after baking will contribute to moistness in the cookie's texture. The higher butter cookie has slightly more spread than the low butter and control. The biggest difference is in the flavor and mouthfeel of the cookie.

There are a few things you can do to add liquid to your cookie dough if it is too dry and crumbly. One option is to add milk, water, or another liquid until the dough is the right consistency. You can also try adding melted butter or shortening. If your dough is still too dry, you may need to add more flour.

For chewier cookies and bars, we melt our butter instead of following the usual procedure of creaming softened butter with sugar. This simple switch frees up the water content of the butter so that it can freely interact with the flour in the dough or batter.