These old fashioned soft molasses cookies are full of warm spices and have a sugar coating on the outside. They smell just like the holidays and are great for cookie exchanges, bake sales, and sharing with friends and family!

This post is sponsored by Bob’s Red Mill. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

It's been somewhat of a nice lull of a week so far. But that's just the calm before the storm...

You know what I'm talking about right?

December arrives this weekend and with it, ALL the parties and events and appointments and shopping and festive craziness.

Tis the season, right?!

But amid the hustle and bustle, I'm also looking forward to all the family time, the quiet moments, the snuggles and the memories. That's what it's all about, really.

Though I'll admit, I'm a total type A. So easy going and laid back aren't really my style. Which is why I am making a holiday bucket list for all the fun ideas and activities we can get into this season.

Man I love a list. Especially the checking off of things on said list. Told you, type A all the way.

And on my bucket list is all the fun baking projects and eats I want to make for the season - old family classics and new recipes to try as well. (I'm gonna call that "research" and hope it leads to some new recipes to share with you!)

Today though I’m so happy to share these old fashioned soft molasses cookies, which have become a holiday favorite in our house!

Now let’s be clear, I love me a chocolate chip cookie (and I have a few versions of those coming up to share with you soon). Such a classic.

But sometimes it’s nice to see something non-chocolate.

Especially at a cookie exchange.

Or a bake sale. Which is where I tend to test-run my cookie recipes!

J’s preschool has a holiday bake sale every December to raise money. They host a dinner, have kid crafts and Santa comes to visit.

It’s been an annual tradition for us ever since M was a baby and at that school. (She’s in second grade now.)

And I love trying out and bringing new cookie recipes to share.

I first made these old fashioned soft molasses cookies a couple of years ago and they were such a huge hit!

M wanted more, more, more and was so sad when they were packaged up and delivered to the bake sale.

So of course I had to make another batch for her to enjoy!

And I’ve been making them every year since.

You guys, they SMELL just like the holidays! Totally puts me in the spirit. ❤️ (Same goes for these ginger snaps; such a classic holiday cookie!)

The cinnamon, ginger and cloves just perfume out as they are baking in the oven and your whole kitchen starts to smell amazing.

They also have such a great richness and depth with the molasses.

And they are just unbelievably soft. Teeth will be sinking in for bite after bite!

I’m also happy to be back partnering with Bob’s Red Mill again and using their organic Ivory Wheat flour, which is my go-to for healthy whole grain baking.

It’s so light, so soft and so mild, so it’s a great way to transition your family from all-purpose flour to a whole wheat flour.

(But you can also sub regular all-purpose flour for this recipe if that’s what you have and use in your kitchen.)

Bob’s Red Mill is all about high-quality and minimally-processed products and they’ve got vegan, gluten-free and paleo products to suit everyone’s lifestyle.

I even really love the bags that their flour comes in. I know that sounds silly, but it really makes it so easy to scoop and measure your flour properly.

I’m not much of a fussy baker and so it's kind-of a bonus that they help me with better measuring.

Back to the cookie deliciousness though.

Tips on how to make old fashioned soft molasses cookies:

I used white wheat flour but as I mentioned, you could sub in regular all-purpose flour here.
The batter for these cookies feels wet, but they roll together easily into balls. If yours don’t seem to do that, you could pop the dough in the refrigerator for a little while to help it firm up.
You’ll roll each ball in some extra sugar before baking, which gives these such a pretty finish.
And you can just plop the balls right on the baking sheet. They’ll spread out into a cookie shape in the oven.

Last thing: I bake 2 cookie sheets at a time (#efficiency) but the one on top always comes out crinkly, like in these photos. I happen to love that.

The cookies on the other baking sheet are more even and uniform across the top and my kids love those.

They all taste the same, just wanted to give you the heads up on the differences you might see in the look.

Chief cookie tester J (age 5), "helping" me with my photo shoot.

I hope your holiday season is filled with friends, family, love and laughter.

And cookies. Plenty of cookies. ❤️

Happy baking!

XO,

Kathryn

P.S. I have two more new cookie recipes coming up next week so be sure to stay tuned!

You can sign up for my free weekly e-newsletter so you never miss a recipe. You’ll also get my free e-cookbook, Easy Weeknight Dinners, as a thank-you!

Yield: 24 cookies

Old fashioned soft molasses cookies

Name: Old fashioned soft molasses cookies
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 24
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 2 cups white whole wheat flour (see notes); 2 teaspoons baking soda; 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon; 1 teaspoon ground ginger; 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 1 large egg; 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted; 1/3 cup granulated sugar; 1/3 cup molasses; 1/4 cup (packed) brown sugar; 1 teaspoon vanilla; For rolling: 1/4 cup granulated sugar

These old fashioned soft molasses cookies are full of warm spices and have a sugar coating on the outside. They smell just like the holidays!

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Ingredients

2 cups white whole wheat flour (see notes)
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon salt
1 large egg
½ cup unsalted butter, melted
⅓ cup granulated sugar
⅓ cup molasses
¼ cup (packed) brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
For rolling: ¼ cup granulated sugar

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 325.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, ground cloves and salt.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg and both sugars until light and fluffy. Add in the molasses, butter and vanilla and stir until well combined. It’ll take a minute of stirring to get the molasses and butter all mixed in.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
Place the extra sugar for rolling into a small bowl.
Roll the batter into small balls (about 1-inch in diameter) and roll each ball in the sugar to coat all sides. Place each ball on an ungreased baking sheet, about 2 inches part. (You’ll need 2 baking sheets for all of the cookies.)
Bake at 325 for 10-12 minutes, until golden brown on top.
Remove from the oven and let cool for a couple of minutes on the baking sheet. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.
The cookies will keep for up to a week at room temperature in an airtight container.

Notes

I use and love Bob’s Red Mill organic Ivory Wheat flour but you can also substitute a regular all-purpose flour here if that’s what you have in your kitchen.

The batter for these cookies feels wet, but they roll together easily into balls. If yours don’t seem to do that, you could pop the dough in the refrigerator for a little while to help it firm up.