Iced Molasses Cookies

The best old-fashioned iced molasses cookies! This homemade cookie recipe bakes up so soft and chewy and is glazed with a sweet icing. Sure to become a holiday favorite and perfect for your Christmas cookie baking!

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These iced molasses cookies have soft centers, lightly crisp edges and are filled with warm spices. They remind me of the Grandma's molasses cookies that you used to be able to buy in a two cookie package.

A thin layer of icing tops the cookies, which makes them perfectly pretty and perfect for stacking and gift giving!

If you are looking for more molasses flavored desserts be sure to try my gingerbread snack cake or biscoff glazed gingerbread scones.

why you will love this old-fashioned cookie

• Nostalgic taste ~ full of flavor and gingerbread spices.
• Soft and chewy ~ the addition of oatmeal adds extra chewiness.
• Easy glaze ~ frosted with a simple vanilla icing recipe that sets so the cookies can be stacked.

Ingredients needed

Please scroll to the printable recipe card at the end of this post for the full list of ingredients and baking directions.

• Old-fashioned rolled oats ~ you will pulse the oats in a food processor or high powered blender to give them a perfect gingerbread oatmeal texture. Quick oats can be substituted here; you will not need to pulse them as much as rolled oats.
• All-purpose flour ~ adds structure to the cookies. If you aren't using a kitchen scale to measure, be sure to spoon the flour into your measuring cup and use a knife to level it off.
• Kosher salt ~ to balance the flavors.
• Baking soda ~ to give the iced molasses cookies a little lift.
• Cinnamon, ginger and cloves ~ the perfect blend of ground spices to give the best molasses cookie flavor.
• Unsalted butter ~ Pull the butter out about an hour before you want to make the cookie dough. You want it room temperature, which is colder than you think! 65°F is the temperature you should be aiming for. I use my Thermapen to quickly check the butter temperature.
• Brown and granulated sugar ~ dark brown sugar adds extra flavor for this recipe, but light brown sugar will also work.
• Egg ~ just one large egg needed. Pull it out with the butter so it's room temperature.
• Molasses ~ I use Wholesome organic molasses. It is darker in color than many brands. Grandma's is the other brand I have used.
• Vanilla ~ adds flavor; I prefer a pure vanilla extract.

how to make iced molasses cookies

Start by placing the old-fashioned rolled oats into a food processor or high speed blender and pulse until they have a variety of texture; mostly oat flour, but some pieces of chopped oats as well. {This is the updated version of my Cuisinart Mini Prep}.

Then in a large bowl whisk together the pulsed oats, flour, baking soda, kosher salt, ground cinnamon, ground ginger and ground cloves. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or with a hand held mixer, cream together the unsalted butter, dark brown sugar and granulated sugar. Scrape up and down the bowl and add in the egg, molasses and vanilla and beat on medium until combined.

Now add the dry ingredients in two additions on low speed, mixing until just combined. The dough will be thick and sticky. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour {can chill for up to 2 days}. If chilled for longer than 1 hour, allow it to sit on the counter for 20 - 30 minutes or the dough can be too hard to scoop.

Preheat the oven to 350°F and line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Scoop the cookie dough, about 2 tablespoons of dough per cookie and place 2-3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.

Then bake for 10-14 minutes, until the edges are set. The middles may look slightly underdone. Remove the cookies from the oven and allow the cookies to rest on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before moving to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

If you want to "scoot" the cookies into nice round shapes, do it as soon as the molasses cookies come out of the oven and are still hot. {I use this Ateco set}.

how to ice the cookies

The icing should be really thick. This helps it to dry and set up.

When you add the initial milk and vanilla {see the photo below for a visual} it will not have enough liquid to form the vanilla icing. Add only enough extra milk {I do ½ teaspoon at a time} until you have a thick icing.

Then very lightly dip the top of the cookie into the icing. You do not want to submerge the cookie! If you drop the cookie in, you will likely break it taking it out. If you would rather, you can lightly spread the icing on the cookies as well. The icing sets after a few hours.

what is the difference between gingerbread and molasses cookies?

Molasses cookies tend to be chewier and softer.

Gingerbread cookies are usually crisper {unless you use my soft gingerbread sugar cookie recipe} and are typically rolled out and cut with cookie cutters.

Remember to pin this recipe to Pinterest! Use the button on the recipe card or the share buttons on the side or bottom of this page.

what type of molasses is used for cookies?

Molasses comes in several varieties; from lighter to blackstrap molasses. I prefer a dark or robust molasses. Wholesome organic is what I typically use in my kitchen. I also like Grandma's brand.

Blackstrap molasses has a stronger and more bitter taste and I do not recommend using it in baking unless a recipe specifically calls for it.

tips for soft and chewy molasses cookies like Grandma's

• Use real butter and don't let it get too soft. Remember about 65°F is what you should be aiming for.
• Chill the dough! This cookie dough is quite sticky and is very challenging to work with before it has spent some time in the refrigerator. Chilling the dough also helps to let the dry ingredients absorb the wet and it makes the cookie more flavorful.
• Do not over bake the molasses cookies. The edges will be set, but the middles will still be soft when they are done baking. Allow them to cool on the pan before moving to a cooling rack to cool completely.
• When icing the cookies just lightly dip the top of the cookie into the thick glaze. Just a quick dip will give the crackled icing appearance.

how to store

Ice molasses cookies should stay fresh in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

The cookies can also be frozen for up to 3 months. The icing does lose some of the white color {it gets a slight yellow tone} once frozen and defrosted, but they are still tasty and delicious!

Remember to snap a picture and tag me on Instagram if you make these Iced Molasses Cookies. It warms my heart to see you bring these recipes to life! Thank you for being here and happy baking!

more gingerbread recipes

• Gingerbread Snack Cake
• No Bake Gingerbread Cookie Butter Cookies
• Soft Gingerbread Sugar Cookies
• Biscoff Glazed Gingerbread Scones

If you make this recipe {or any recipe!} from two sugar bugs please come back and leave a review and a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ star rating.  I read every comment, and I LOVE hearing from you!