Soft Molasses Cookies Recipe - The Recipe Rebel (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to soft cookies? ›

Baking cookies quickly in a hot oven – at 375 degrees F as opposed to a lower temperature – will make for soft results. They'll bake fast instead of sitting and drying out in the oven's hot air. Ever so slightly underbaking your cookies will give you softer results than cooking them the full amount the recipe says.

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.

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.

Baking powder or flour in excess will cause cookies to rise more, making them more fluffy and cakey. Increased sugar will make them caramelize more and increased fat will make the dough heavier and richer, all increasing retention of water in the dough- these all add up to chewier cookies.

Use more egg yolks and less egg whites. Egg yolks add moisture to the dough, while egg whites can make cookies drier and crunchier. Add a bit of cornstarch to the dough. Cornstarch helps to absorb moisture and keep cookies soft and tender.

The key to keeping cookies fresh and soft is to seal them in an airtight container, like a resealable freezer bag. And here's a nifty little trick: add a piece of bread to the bag. You might think that the bread trick works because the cookies absorb moisture from the bread.

The best way to soften up those hard cookies is something you probably already have in your kitchen… bread! That's right, a piece of fresh bread will make those tough treats soft and chewy.

OVEN IS TOO HOT

If your cookies consistently come out flat, you may have selected the wrong baking temperature. If you bake cookies using too much heat, the fats in the dough begin to melt before the other ingredients can cook together and form your cookie's rise.

Grandma's Molasses is made of the highest grade sugarcane molasses that is unsulfured and contains no preservatives, artificial flavors or artificial colors. It's the secret ingredient for baking and cooking. Grandma's Molasses is a nutritious alternative to refined sugar that is also Kosher and gluten free.

Is Grandma's Unsulphured molasses the same as blackstrap? ›

Unsulphured molasses can be light, dark or blackstrap, as long as it hasn't been treated with sulphur dioxide. Most commercially produced molasses is unsulphured.

While light and dark molasses can be used fairly interchangeably, blackstrap molasses can overpower your baking with off-putting flavors.

It gives this recipe just that much more deep flavor and chewy texture. You can use light or dark brown sugar, both work well in this recipe. Dark brown sugar has more molasses in it, giving it a darker color. We use white granulated sugar for the exterior to give the cookie a sparkle and a crackly top.

Try using baking powder instead of baking soda. Baking soda encourages spreading while baking powder puffs the cookies up. If your recipe calls for 1 teaspoon of baking soda, you would use 3 to 4 teaspoons of baking powder.

Use an unsulphered molasses, like Grandma's brand (pictured above) or Brer Rabbit “Full Flavor”. Avoid blackstrap molasses–it's too strong for this recipe and will make the cookies bitter.

Cookies begin losing moisture through evaporation from the moment that they come out of the oven. So it's totally normal for them to harden up a bit. Yet, this is why you need to store them in an airtight container once they completely cool or they will continue to lose moisture.

The ingredients you use and how you shape your cookies both play an important role in whether your cookies turn out crispy or chewy. The type of flour and sugar you use, if your cookie dough contains eggs, and whether you use melted or softened butter all factor into the crispy-chewy equation, too.

Room temperature butter is just the right consistency to incorporate air when it's creamed with sugar. These trapped air pockets result in risen, fluffy cookies. If the butter is any warmer, it won't incorporate enough air and your cookies will have less rise.

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.