These soft brown butter molasses cookies are soft in the center with crisp, chewy edges, and full of brown butter and molasses flavors!
These soft brown butter molasses cookies are the ideal holiday cookie. Warm spices, rich molasses & brown butter flavors, AND no rolling/cutting out. Just a simple scoop & bake cookie dough!
Though there is some chill time and the extra step of making the brown butter, but trust me you don't want to skip it! It gives these cookies so much depth of flavor, you'll never want to eat an ordinary molasses cookie again!
For more Christmas cookie recipes, try Chocolate Peppermint Crinkle Cookies, Soft Gingerbread Cutout Cookies, and Salted Caramel Linzer Cookies.
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Why you'll love these soft molasses cookies:
- Brown Butter: Caramelizing butter brings out so much flavor and takes these cookies to whole other level!
- Warm Spices: Warm, cozy spices are a must in any holiday cookie and they make these molasses cookies just that much more special.
- Rich Molasses: If you're a lover of molasses, these cookies do not disappoint!
Ingredient Notes
Ingredient quantities are listed in the recipe card below. Here you'll find notes on why I chose certain ingredients, as well as ingredient substitutions.
- All-Purpose Flour: You'll need about two cups of flour. Use high-quality, unbleached all-purpose flour.
- Baking Soda: You'll need ½ teaspoon of baking soda.
- Spices: I used a combination of cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and allspice.
- Brown Butter: You'll need 170g of brown butter, so start with a couple extra tablespoons to account for the water evaporation. Keep in mind that European-style butter has less water content, so if you're using American-style butter you might want to start with even more butter.
- Brown Sugar: For a more rich molasses flavor, use dark brown sugar, but you can also use light brown sugar.
- Granulated Sugar: You'll ¼ cup for the dough and another ¼ cup for rolling.
- Molasses: You'll need 80g (or scant ¼ cup) of unsulphured molasses.
- Egg: You'll need one egg at room temperature.
Kitchen Equipment
- Kitchen Scale
- Small Saucepan
- Mixing Bowl
- Whisk
- Rubber Spatula
- 3 Tablespoon Cookie Scoop
- Baking Tray
- Parchment Paper
Step by Step Instructions
STEP 1: Make the brown butter. In a small saucepan, heat 204g (14 ½ tbsp) of unsalted butter over medium heat for several minutes, swirling to even out the color. The butter will be ready once the fat solids have separated and darkened, and the butter is an even medium amber color. Weigh out 170g (¾ cup) of the brown butter in a large bowl. Place in the freezer for about 15 minutes until solid, yet soft.
STEP 2: Make the cookie dough. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the soft brown butter and sugars together for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy. Add in the molasses and beat until fully combined. Then, mix in the egg and vanilla. Lastly, add in the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Chill the dough in the fridge for about one hour.
STEP 3: Portion the cookie dough. Using a 3 tablespoon cookie scoop, portion the cookie dough and place onto one baking sheet. Freeze for 15 minutes.
STEP 4: Bake. Roll each cookie dough ball in sugar, then place on a baking sheet about 3 inches apart. Bake the cookies for about 10-12 minutes, until slightly golden on the edges. Cool completely on the baking sheet & enjoy!
Expert Baking Tips
- Start with an extra couple tablespoons of butter, since water evaporates as it browns. Also, keep in mind that European-style butter has less water content, so if you're using American-style butter you might want to start with even more butter.
- Be sure to bring your brown butter back to a solid, yet soft state by placing in the freezer for about 15 minutes.
- Do not skip the chill time of the cookie dough!
FAQ
To brown the butter, in a small saucepan, heat the butter over medium heat for several minutes, swirling to even out the color. It will alternate between bubbling and foaming. The butter will be ready once the fat solids have separated and darkened, and the butter is an even medium amber color. It should take about 10 minutes, depending on the amount of butter you're using.
Yes, you can use 170g (¾ cup) room temperature unsalted butter.
Storage Tips
Store these cookies in an air-tight container at room temperature for 3-5 days. You can also freeze the baked cookies or raw portioned cookie dough for up to 3 months.
Baking in Grams
All of the recipes on this blog are carefully developed with gram measurements so you can easily recreate them in your own kitchen with success. Volume measurements are extremely inaccurate and leave room for significant errors. Not all measuring cups are made equally, so your one cup of flour will be different from my one cup of flour. By providing precise measurements in grams (aside from minor ingredients, which are given in tsp/tbsp), you can make these recipes accurately and with less cleanup! All you need is this kitchen scale.
If this still isn't enough to convince you, I have provided volume measurements in the recipe card. If you are interested in understanding the conversions, this is the best conversion chart.
But trust me, once you try baking in grams you'll never turn back!
Happy baking! x
Other Christmas cookies you'll love
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Soft Brown Butter Molasses Cookies
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Total Time: 57 minutes
- Yield: 13 large cookies 1x
- Category: cookies
- Method: baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These soft brown butter molasses cookies are soft in the center with crisp, chewy edges, and full of brown butter and molasses flavors!
Ingredients
For the Molasses Cookies:
- 170g (¾ cup) brown butter, start with 204g/14 ½ tablespoon unsalted butter
- 240g (2 cups) all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 2 tsp ginger
- ¼ tsp cloves
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- ¼ tsp allspice
- ½ tsp salt
- 160g (¾ cup) dark brown sugar
- 50g (¼ cup) granulated sugar
- 80g (scant ¼ cup) unsulphured molasses
- 1 egg, room temp
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
For Rolling:
- 50g (¼ cup) granulated sugar
Instructions
- Start by making the brown butter. In a small saucepan, heat 204g (14 ½ tbsp) of unsalted butter over medium heat for several minutes, swirling to even out the color. The butter will be ready once the fat solids have separated and darkened, and the butter is an even medium amber color.
- Weigh out 170g (¾ cup) of the brown butter in a large bowl. If you are short a few grams, just add regular unsalted butter to make up the difference. Place in the freezer for about 15 minutes until solid, yet soft.
- Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, spices, and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the soft brown butter and sugars together for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Add in the molasses and beat until fully combined.
- Then, add in the egg and vanilla and beat until fully combined.
- Lastly, add in the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
- Chill the dough in the fridge for about one hour.
- Toward the end of the chill time, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Using a 3 tablespoon cookie scoop, portion the cookie dough and place onto one baking sheet. Freeze for 15 minutes.
- Roll each cookie dough ball in sugar, then place on a baking sheet about 3 inches apart.
- Bake the cookies for about 10-12 minutes, until slightly golden on the edges.
- Cool completely on the baking sheet & enjoy!
Notes
- Start with an extra couple tablespoons of butter, since water evaporates as it browns. Also, keep in mind that European-style butter has less water content, so if you're using American-style butter you might want to start with even more butter.
- Be sure to bring your brown butter back to a solid, yet soft state by placing in the freezer for about 15 minutes.
- Do not skip the chill time of the cookie dough!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 102
- Sugar: 12.9 g
- Sodium: 58.1 mg
- Fat: 0.8 g
- Carbohydrates: 22.7 g
- Protein: 1.5 g
- Cholesterol: 7.4 mg
Keywords: soft molasses cookies, brown butter cookies, soft ginger molasses cookies, soft molasses drop cookies, soft molasses cookies recipe, chewy molasses spice cookies
Did you make this recipe? Let me know how it turned out!