Nothing brings on pure holiday nostalgia like a soft, chewy molasses cookie. These Iced Molasses Cookies are the perfect cookies to make around the holidays. Full of warm, cozy spices and a soft & chewy texture. The vanilla glaze perfectly compliments the rich flavors of nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger and cloves.
One of the great things about this iced molasses cookie recipe is how easy it is to make. The cookie dough itself requires simple, easy to find ingredients. Most of them you probably already have in your pantry as we speak. The dough does not require chilling. They bake in 10 minutes! You can't beat it. Delicious holiday cookies that don't require a ton of work or fancy technique is my type of cookie.
Ingredients needed for the recipe
- Unsalted Butter
- Granulated Sugar
- Molasses
- Large Egg
- All Purpose Flour
- Baking Soda
- Ground Cinnamon
- Ground Cloves
- Ground Nutmeg
- Ground Ginger
- Salt
How to make soft Iced Molasses Cookies
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with non stick spray or line it with parchment paper.
- Combine the dry ingredients; flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger and salt in a bowl. Give the dry ingredients a quick whisk and set aside.
- In a separate large mixing bowl, beat the butter on medium speed for 1 minute. Add in the sugar to the butter and beat for an additional 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add in the molasses and egg. Continue mixing together until combined. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the mixture and mix until the cookie dough forms. The dough should be thick and sticky.
- Use a cookie dough scoop or a spoon to scoop out and roll balls of cookie dough. Place the cookie dough balls on the prepared baking sheet, spacing the cookie dough about 2 inches apart.
- Bake in the oven for 9 to 10 minutes. After a couple of minutes transfer the cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Easy Vanilla Glaze Recipe
Once the cookies are cooled it's time to glaze them! This glaze comes together super quick, basically in seconds. You'll need
- powdered sugar
- milk (whole milk preferred but 2% works well too)
- vanilla extract
- a pinch of salt to cut the sweetness
Add the powdered sugar and milk to a small bowl and whisk to combine. Add in the vanilla extract and salt. Mix everything together until combined. The glaze is on the thicker side. If you like a thinner glaze, simply add more milk a splash at a time until your desired consistency is achieved.
Make ahead and storage instructions
This cookie dough can easily be made ahead of time and kept in the freezer to bake later. If you want to make the cookie dough ahead of time follow the recipe for the cookie dough, scoop and roll out balls of cookie dough and store them in a freezer-safe food storage container for up to a month! When your ready to bake the cookies preheat the oven, place the cookie dough on a baking sheet and bake away. Since the cookie will be frozen they make need a few extra minutes in the oven, so watch your baking time.
Baked cookies stay soft and fresh for 3 to 4 days in a air tight food storage container.
Check out these holiday cookie recipes
Chocolate Espresso Crinkle Cookies
Iced Molasses Cookies
Ingredients
For the cookies
- 12 tbsp unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup molasses
- 1 large egg
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon salt
For the icing
- 1½ cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 to 2 tablespoons whole milk
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray or line with parchment paper, set aside.
- In a bowl combine dry ingredients; flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, nut meg, ginger & salt. Give it a quick whisk or stir and set bowl aside.
- In a separate bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium speed for about 1 minute. Add in sugar and continue to cream together for about 2 to 3 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add in molasses and egg, continue to mix until thoroughly combined. Slowly add in dry ingredients, mixing thoroughly until combined, cookie dough will be thick.
- Scoop cookie dough and place on cookie sheet, spacing about 2 inches apart. Bake for 9-10 minutes. After a couple of minutes transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Make the icing: in a small bowl combine powdered sugar, vanilla extract and milk and whisk together with a fork until icing thickens and all the sugar is absorbed into the milk. Add a little extract milk to think it out if you like or add a little extra sugar if you want it thicker.
- Use a knife to spread icing over cookies or drizzle over cookie with a spoon. Add sprinkles if desired.