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Chewy Chocolate Molasses Cookie with a bite taken out of it resting on top of a glass of milk, more cookies arranged around it.

Chewy Chocolate Molasses Cookies

Chewy, chocolatey and perfectly spiced, these chocolate molasses cookies have a deep chocolate flavor and fudgy, chewy texture thanks to the extra egg yolk and melted butter in the dough.
Yield: 24 cookies
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Chill Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour

Ingredients

  • 2 ¼ cups / 275 g all-purpose flour
  • ⅓ cup / 30 g Dutch-processed cocoa powder
  • 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
  • ¼ teaspoon espresso powder, optional
  • ¾ cup / 170 g (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
  • ⅓ cup / 110 g mild molasses, not blackstrap
  • 1 cup / 210 g brown sugar, light or dark brown
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • ¼ cup granulated sugar, ideally organic or raw sugar, for coating

Instructions

  • In a bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, spices, salt and espresso powder (if using); set aside.
  • In a large mixing bowl, whisk together melted butter with brown sugar and molasses. Mix until the butter is fully incorporated and there's no longer a slick of butter visible in the mixture.
  • Add egg and egg yolk and whisk until fully smooth and emulsified, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula as needed. Mix in vanilla.
  • Add dry ingredients and mix until fully incorporated. Cover and chill for 15 to 30 minutes or until dough is firm enough to work with.
  • While dough is chilling, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • With a medium cookie scoop (about 2 tablespoons worth, or 30g of dough per ball by weight), roll dough into a smooth ball, then coat in granulated sugar.
  • Arrange on prepared cookie sheet, leaving about 2 inches of of space between cookies as they will spread in the oven. I like to bake 8 at a time. (At this point you can also freeze the unbaked cookie dough balls on a baking sheet until solid, then transfer to an airtight bag. Bake them straight from frozen, adding about a minute or two to the overall cook time).
  • Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until cookies are spread and their tops are puffed and lightly cracked and no longer raw-looking. Immediately after they come out of the oven, give them a good rap on the counter to deflate, the swirl a round cookie cutter (slightly larger than the diameter of the cookie) around the still-hot cookies to tuck in the edges and give them a perfectly circular shape.
  • Let cool on cookie sheet for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Cookies will keep in an airtight container for up to 3 days, refrigerated for up to 5, or in a zip-top bag in the freezer for up to 2 months.