Entertainment 10/44

Chewy Molasses Cookies

Molasses Cookie Recipe Ingredients

Something else I love about this molasses cookie recipe? It’s totally vegan! It comes together with these basic ingredients:

Molasses, of course! I make these cookies with unsulphured blackstrap molasses, which gives them a rich molasses flavor and dark color.
Brown sugar and white sugar – For sweetness. This combination also contributes to the cookies’ delicious chewy texture.
Coconut oil – For this recipe, your coconut oil should be soft, but not melted. To achieve the right consistency, I usually pop it in the microwave for around 15 seconds before I start to bake. The exact timing depends on its initial texture, which varies based on the temperature of the kitchen. Room temperature butter will work here too.
All-purpose flour – For the most precise measurement, use the spoon-and-level method.
Baking soda – It reacts with the molasses and brown sugar to help the cookies rise.
Warm spices – You can’t make good chewy molasses cookies without spices! I use the same ones that I do in my vegan gingerbread: ginger, cinnamon, and cardamom.
Vanilla – It deepens the warm, spiced flavor of these molasses cookies.
Fine sea salt – To make all the flavors pop!
And natural cane sugar – For rolling! It creates a sweet, crispy crust around the cookies’ chewy middles.

First, make the dough. Cream the coconut oil and sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer until light and fluffy. Add the molasses and vanilla, and mix again to combine. Then, whisk together the dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Gradually add them to the bowl of the stand mixer, mixing after each addition. Finally, mix in 1 tablespoon water to moisten the dough.

Next, shape the cookies. Use a 2-inch cookie scoop to portion the dough, and roll each scoop into a ball. Roll the balls in a small bowl of cane sugar. When they’re evenly coated, place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Before you bake, gently press down on the balls to flatten them slightly.

Then, bake! Transfer the cookies to a 350° oven and bake for 10 minutes, until the cookies have spread slightly and cracks form on their surfaces. Allow them to cool for 10 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy!

Chewy Molasses Cookies Tips

Use natural cane sugar for rolling. I like to use regular granulated sugar in these cookies, but I use natural cane sugar on the outside. It has a slightly coarser texture, which creates a delicious crispy crust around the cookies’ edges.
Bake one sheet at a time. These molasses cookies spread out as they bake, so depending on the size of your baking sheet, you may need to bake them in two batches. Though working in batches takes longer than putting all the cookies in the oven at once, the extra time is worth it. Because temperatures vary throughout an oven, the cookies will bake most evenly if they’re all on the same oven rack. You don’t want cookies on a lower rack to burn before ones above them are cooked through!
Leave them on the baking sheet for 10 minutes after they come out of the oven. It’ll be tempting to reach for these chewy molasses cookies as soon as they finish baking, but if you can, hold off for at least 10 minutes. Straight out of the oven, the cookies are puffy and delicate. As they cool, they crisp up around the edges and become chewy and fudgy in the middle. After 10 minutes, go ahead and sample one (or more), and transfer the rest to a wire rack to cool completely.

Ingredients

½ cup soft (not melted) coconut oil or room temperature butter
⅓ cup packed brown sugar
⅓ cup granulated sugar
⅓ cup unsulphured blackstrap molasses
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon cardamom
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
1 tablespoon water
⅓ cup cane sugar, for rolling
Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, or using an electric mixer, cream the coconut oil, brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Add the molasses and vanilla and mix again.
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, ginger, cardamom, and salt. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing after each addition. Mix in the 1 tablespoon water.
Use a 2-inch cookie scoop to scoop the dough and use your hands to roll it into balls. Roll in the sugar, press down slightly, and bake for 10 minutes. Remove and let cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

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