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With warming spices and rich, caramel sweetness, these Chewy, Make Ahead Molasses Cookies are a family favorite. The make ahead cookie dough is a lifesaver for busy bakers – especially during the holidays!
Make Ahead Chewy Molasses Cookies – More Flavor, Less Stress
Not so long ago, if someone asked somebody else how they were, the standard response was, “Fine.”
Today, the answer to that same question is usually, “Busy!”
Busyness is just a fact of life these days. That’s not all bad. I like the feeling that comes with doing what needs to be done and crossing things off my list.
But something I have learned over the years is that being busy can cross the line to being stressed pretty easily. Planning ahead is the best way to keep on the right side of that line.
Last month, I knew that I’d need to spend a few days visiting bookstores to deliver advanced copies of my next novel, The Book Club for Troublesome Women. I also knew that I wanted to bring some cookies along with the books. (Insider tip for debut authors – booksellers love baked goods!)
But I didn’t know when copies would arrive, or what my schedule would look like once they did. So, there was no way to know how many stores I could visit on any particular day, or how many cookies I might need to bake.
My solution was to make and freeze the dough ahead of time. That way, I could quickly bake as many fresh cookies as I needed when the time came.
And that’s just what I did.
Those chewy, delicious molasses cookies were a big hit with booksellers. Making them ahead of time made a potentially busy time a lot less stressful for me.
Having some ready-to-bake treats on hand is never a bad idea. And with crazy busy holidays around the corner, there’s no better time to mix a batch of these spicy, chewy, utterly delicious make ahead molasses cookies!
Chewy Make Ahead Molasses Cookies – Great For Holidays Or Any Day
Molasses cookies have always been one of my favorites. They’re a fan favorite all year round, but they’re especially nice during the holidays.
With plenty of warming spices like cinnamon, ginger, and allspice, they taste a bit like gingerbread but with a soft and chewy texture. The molasses adds sweetness and depth, giving these yummy cookies a rich, almost caramelly flavor.
In addition to being super delicious, these chewy molasses cookies are super easy to make – and to make ahead!
If you’ve made drop cookies such as chocolate chip, peanut butter, or oatmeal in the past, the process will be familiar.
All you’ll need to do is mix the dry ingredients in a separate bowl and them aside. Then you’ll cream the butter and sugars together with a stand mixer or handheld mixer before adding the wet ingredients. After that, you’ll incorporate the dry ingredients into the mixing bowl in batches, creating a thick and fairly stiff dough.
Simple and probably familiar, yes?
But the extra step that happens next is a little different, and the thing that makes these delicious, chewy make ahead molasses cookies perfect for busy bakers.
Chewy Make Ahead Molasses Cookies – Chilling, Storing, And Baking
Most drop cookies go right from the mixing bowl to the oven. Molasses cookies need to be chilled for at least a couple of hours before baking. Otherwise, they spread too much.
That extra chilling time can be an issue if you’re in a hurry, but it’s perfect if you’re looking for a good cookie to make ahead of time.
Because all you need to do is extend that chilling time in the fridge from a few hours to a few days. If you decide to freeze the dough, it will keep up to three months.
If you want to make the cookies within a week, simply wrap them tightly in plastic wrap and store them in the refrigerator until you’re ready to bake. I like to divide my dough into 12-ounce portions, which will make about a dozen cookies. Then I shape them into discs before wrapping them.
If I’m freezing the dough, I place the wrapped discs in a plastic zipper bag. That helps protect the dough from freezer burn. When you’re ready to bake, just leave the dough to thaw on the counter for about thirty minutes before handling.
Before baking, you’ll roll the dough into balls with your hands and then roll them in sugar. I actually use a kitchen scale to make sure my cookies weigh about an ounce and are uniform in size. However, a cookie scoop, tablespoon, or just eyeballing it works too.
The baked molasses cookies will stay fresh for 3-4 days if stored in an airtight container.
Print
Make Ahead Chewy Molasses Cookies
- Yield: Makes approximately 40 cookies 1x
Ingredients
- 3 cups flour
- 3 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground allspice (can sub ½ tsp cloves)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar (plus extra for rolling)
- 2/3 cup brown sugar
- 1/3 cup unsulphured molasses
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- If baking that day, preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray baking sheet lightly with cooking spray or line with parchment. If making dough ahead of time, skip this step until ready to bake.
- Place flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, and salt in a medium-sized bowl. Stir to distribute evenly and set aside.
- Place soften butter in bowl of stand mixer (can also use large bowl with hand mixer) and beat at medium high speed with white and brown sugars for 2-3 minutes, until smooth and fluffy. Add molasses, eggs, and vanilla to the bowl, beating until smooth.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in three batches, beating until smooth after each addition.
- If baking cookies that day, cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 2 to 4 hours, before moving on to steps 6 & 7. If making ahead, divide dough into three portions and flatten into disc and wrap tightly with plastic wrap. Wrapped dough will keep in the refrigerator for up to a week, or placed into plastic zipper bags and stored in the freezer for up to three months. (Frozen dough should thaw 30 minutes.)
- Roll cookie dough into one-ounce balls (about the size of a walnut), then roll in granulated sugar.
- Place balls onto a prepared baking sheet, leaving space between, and bake in preheated oven for 10-12 minutes. Remove cookies from oven and allow them to cool.
