These soft, chewy cookies are perfectly spiced and are the perfect cookie to bake up all fall and winter long! The molasses and chai spice blend give these cookies a gingerbread-like flavor that everyone in your home is sure to love.
My favorite thing about these cookies has to be the wonderful aroma that they fill the house with while baking! These cookies are fun to bake up with the kiddos and rolling the cookie balls in the chai sugar will probably be their favorite part. Enjoy these on a brisk day with a cup of coffee - it doesn't get any better!
Jump to:
- Ingredients You Need To Make This Recipe
- How to Make These Cookies
- Watch The Video for These Cookies!
- What Is Chai Spice?
- What is Molasses?
- What Molasses Should I Use for These Cookies?
- What Makes These Cookies Different From Gingerbread Cookies?
- Why Did My Cookies Spread Out Too Much During Baking?
- Storing and Make Ahead Instructions
- Recommended Tools for This Recipe
- Check out These Other Irresistible Cookie Recipes Before You Go!
- 📖 Recipe
Ingredients You Need To Make This Recipe
Chai Sugar (for rolling cookies in - make first)
- ¾ cup white sugar
- ¼ cup dark brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Cookie Dough
- 1 cup butter (two sticks), softened. The best way to soften butter, and the way I recommend, is to leave the butter out at room temperature for 1-2 hours. You can also leave your butter on the counter overnight if you plan on baking the next morning.
- White sugar. We use a combination of white, or granulated, and brown sugar in this cookie dough.
- One large egg. Allow your egg to sit out until it reaches room temperature or place it in a bowl of warm water for 5-10 minutes.
- Dark molasses. I recommend dark (also referred to as medium) molasses for this recipe. You may also use light molasses if you prefer, which is sweeter and a bit lighter in flavor. However, I do not recommend blackstrap molasses, which is too intense and bitter for these cookies.
- Vanilla extract. I recommend a good quality vanilla extract (such as this one) for these cookies as it will give the cookies the best flavor. I do not recommend vanilla flavoring or imitation vanilla.
- All-purpose flour. This is the best variety of flour for baking cookies. I recommend a good quality brand with a higher protein content (such as this one) for the best texture.
- Baking soda. This is the leavening agent used to help the cookies rise. Be sure your baking soda is no more than six months old. Old baking soda can ruin the texture of your baked goods!
- Ground ginger, ground cinnamon, ground cardamom, and ground cloves. These spices add delicious earthiness and spice to the cookies.
How to Make These Cookies
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set it aside.
Prepare the chai sugar by adding white and brown sugars, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, cloves, nutmeg, and black pepper to a medium bowl. Whisk together until combined. Set aside.
In a separate large mixing bowl, add flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and cardamom. Whisk everything together until fully combined. Set flour mixture aside.
To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add butter, white sugar, and brown sugar. Beat on medium-high (a speed of 6-8 on a stand mixer) until butter and sugars are light and fluffy, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl down a few times to ensure everything gets mixed evenly. This should take anywhere from 5-8 minutes.
Once the butter mixture is fluffy, turn off the mixer and add egg, molasses, and vanilla to the bowl with the butter and sugar. Beat on low, gradually increasing speed to medium, and mix until all of the ingredients are fully combined.
Add the flour mixture, about a cup at a time, to the bowl with the butter mixture and mix on medium after each addition to combine. Be sure and scrape the bowl to ensure everything gets combined. After adding the last of the flour, mix just until no more dry flour is visible and turn off the mixer.
At this point, you have a couple of options when it comes to chilling the dough. You can transfer the bowl of dough to the freezer for about 15 minutes to allow it to firm up a bit, or - for a firmer dough and a thicker cookie - you may refrigerate for the dough for about an hour.
I went with the quicker freezer chilling of the dough for this batch, which keeps the cookies from spreading too much while baking but yields a flatter cookie than you would get if you were to fully chill the dough. Either way, the cookies turn out chewy and delicious!
Scoop out balls of dough into your palm using a cookie scoop, and use both hands to form them into round balls. Roll each dough ball into the chai sugar, coating all sides, then transfer cookies to the prepared baking sheet, spacing them an inch or more apart.
Bake cookies for 7-10 minutes, until the edges are just set but the middles are still gooey. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking for about 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. The cookies will continue to firm up as they cool.
You can sprinkle the cookies with a little more of the chai sugar while they cool if you like. Enjoy!
Watch The Video for These Cookies!
What Is Chai Spice?
Chai spice is an earthy, flavorful mixture of spices commonly used in masala chai, which literally translates to "spiced tea" as masala means "spice" and chai means "tea". However, chai spice can be used in an array of different recipes, baked goods being my favorite!
The exact spices used can vary from recipe to recipe and depend largely on the preferences of whoever is creating the blend. The most common and traditional mixture of spices includes cardamom, black peppercorn, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, mace, nutmeg, and star anise.
My friend Shweta of Masala & Chai has an amazing recipe for an authentic chai spice blend using fresh ground spices - get the recipe here! For these cookies, we use a mixture of pre-ground spices that yields a perfectly spicy, warm blend.
What is Molasses?
Molasses is actually a byproduct of making sugar from sugarcane or sugar beets. The process goes through three boiling cycles and with each cycle a different type of molasses is created. The lighter the molasses, the sweeter the flavor.
There are three main types of molasses typically available at most grocers to choose from when it comes to cooking and baking and the flavor of each differs substantially.
- Light molasses. This version of molasses is the syrup that remains after the first processing of the sugar. It is generally unsulphured and is the lightest as well as sweetest variety. Light molasses is light in color and is also mild or sweet because only a small percentage of the sugar has been extracted.
- Medium or dark molasses. After the second boiling of the sugar, medium, or dark, molasses is made. The flavor is a bit more intense than light molasses, but not as strong as blackstrap. Dark molasses is naturally darker in color, less sweet with a hint of bitterness, and has a thicker consistency than light molasses.
- Blackstrap molasses. The syrup remaining after the third extraction of sugar from sugar cane is blackstrap molasses. The word blackstrap refers to the color of the molasses, which is extremely dark. It has a very intense, somewhat bitter flavor with a strong aroma.
What Molasses Should I Use for These Cookies?
For this particular recipe, I recommend medium or dark molasses, as it gives the cookies a great molasses flavor without being overpowering or bitter. You can also use light molasses if you prefer a less pronounced molasses flavor in your baked goods.
These are my two recommendations for each type of molasses:
- Light variety - Grandma's Original Molasses
- Medium or dark - Brer Rabbit Full Flavored Molasses *this is the brand I used for these cookies*
What Makes These Cookies Different From Gingerbread Cookies?
The main difference between these Chai Spiced Molasses Cookies and gingerbread cookies is the texture. Gingerbread cookies, also known as gingersnap cookies, have a crispier and snappier (hence the name) texture than chewy molasses cookies.
While both types of cookies feature molasses and ginger as ingredients, molasses cookies typically contain less ginger than gingerbread cookies. Both cookies do contain about the same amount of molasses in most recipes, however.
Of course in this recipe, the addition of the chai spice blend adds another element to these cookies that sets them apart from gingerbread cookies.
Why Did My Cookies Spread Out Too Much During Baking?
There are a number of reasons that can cause cookies to spread too much during baking. These are a few common reasons:
- The cookie dough is too warm. Prevent this by chilling dough in the refrigerator for at least an hour before baking.
- There is not enough flour in the dough. Be sure and measure flour properly by fluffing flour with a fork, using a spoon to scoop it into the measuring cup, and leveling it off with a knife. You can also use a kitchen scale for precise baking.
- The baking pan is too warm. Do not sit your baking sheet on top of the oven while it is preheating as this can cause it to be too warm when you add the cookie dough, which can cause the cookies to spread.
- Extra-large eggs are used instead of large. Be sure and follow the recipe if it calls for large eggs. Using extra-large instead of large adds more liquid to the batter, which can cause the cookies to spread more.
Storing and Make Ahead Instructions
These cookies can be stored in an airtight container or wrapped in plastic wrap and stored at room temperature for up to five days. You can also freeze baked cookies by wrapping them tightly in plastic wrap then freezing them in a zip-top freezer bag for up to a month or more.
You can also prepare this dough ahead of time and store it in the freezer until ready to bake for up to three months. Just wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap, either pre-portioned for baking or in a log, and store in freezer bags in the freezer until ready to bake. You can bake pre-portioned cookies from frozen!
Recommended Tools for This Recipe
Check out These Other Irresistible Cookie Recipes Before You Go!
Chewy Peanut Butter Cup S'mores Cookies
📖 Recipe
Chewy Chai Spiced Molasses Cookies
Equipment
- Stand mixer
Ingredients
Chai Sugar (for rolling cookies in, make first)
- ¾ cup white sugar
- ¼ cup dark brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Cookie Dough
- 1 cup butter two sticks, softened
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- ⅔ cup dark brown sugar packed
- 1 large egg room temperature
- ⅓ cup dark molasses*
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour spooned and leveled
- 3 teaspoons baking soda**
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set it aside.
- Prepare the chai sugar by adding white and brown sugars, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, cloves, nutmeg, and black pepper to a medium bowl. Whisk together until combined. Set aside.
- In a separate large mixing bowl, add flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and cardamom. Whisk everything together until fully combined. Set flour mixture aside.
- To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add butter, white sugar, and brown sugar. Beat on medium-high (a speed of 6-8 on a stand mixer) until butter and sugars are light and fluffy, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl down a few times to ensure everything gets mixed evenly. This should take anywhere from 5-8 minutes.
- Once the butter mixture is fluffy, turn off the mixer and add egg, molasses, and vanilla to the bowl with the butter and sugar. Beat on low, gradually increasing speed to medium, and mix until all of the ingredients are fully combined.
- Add the flour mixture, about a cup at a time, to the bowl with the butter mixture and mix on medium after each addition to combine. Be sure and scrape the bowl to ensure everything gets combined. After adding the last of the flour, mix just until no more dry flour is visible and turn off the mixer.
- Transfer the bowl of dough to the freezer to chill for 15 minutes or, for a thicker cookie, transfer the dough to the refrigerator and chill the dough for about an hour.
- Scoop out balls of dough into your palm using a cookie scoop, and use both hands to form them into round balls. Roll each dough ball into the chai sugar, coating all sides, then transfer cookies to the prepared baking sheet, spacing them an inch or more apart.
- Bake cookies for 7-10 minutes, until the edges are just set but the middles are still gooey. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking for about 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. The cookies will continue to firm up as they cool.
- Sprinkle the cookies with a little more of the chai sugar while they cool if you like. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Marilyn Wilcox
I would love to know how to do a similar cookie with GF flour. I am celiac and miss my grandma's molasses cookies. You said the cookie needs more protein (I'm assuming the wheat protein). Can you suggest alterations? I love Red's cup for cup GF flour. Thank you.
Ashley Boyd
Hi Marilyn,
I have not tried a gluten-free version of this recipe but I have baked other goods with Bob's Red Mill all-purpose gluten-free baking flour and they turned out delicious! Just note that you do have to add xanthan gum when baking with this flour. Instructions for how much to add are included on the package. Please let me know how your cookies turn out!