Chewy Chocolate-Molasses-Spice Cookies have all the goodness of fall spices and flavors, but also a satisfying dose of chocolate. These plump, round cookies flaunt perfectly cracked tops and sprinkles of turbinado sugar. But they aren’t just dazzling to the eyes! Chewy Chocolate-Molasses-Spice Cookies promise a chewy bite and an explosion of chocolatey fall flavors in every mouthful.
A couple of special ingredients make this spin on the classic molasses cookie such a hit – molasses and turbinado sugar.
Molasses
I recall many early mornings as a child waiting at the breakfast table while my mother retrieved an unmarked quart jar of molasses. She used a spoon to slowly drizzle the thick, richly sweet, amber-colored molasses over a hearty slice of her scratch-made sour dough bread for me. Yummmm! Of course, I wasn’t allowed to touch the jar of molasses myself. I had a reputation for spreading stickies pretty much all over. The reputation persists, but I can do whatever I want in my own kitchen now.
The point of this wandering reminiscence is that the heavenly syrup from the unmarked jar (that undoubtedly some gifted soul made locally) bakes differently from the molasses found in the grocery stores. Also, blackstrap molasses is a stronger, bitter product that differs tremendously from standard molasses.
I made some adjustments to this recipe so the Chewy Chocolate-Molasses-Spice Cookies bake up just like they did with homemade molasses. So remember, if you’re lucky enough to have an unmarked jar of molasses, savor them on your biscuits and use the grocery store stuff for your cookies.
Turbinado Sugar
Turbinado sugar is little golden crystals of sugar with several magical powers:
- Turbinado sugar retains natural some natural molasses, giving it a lovely caramel color for fall and winter baking.
- Turbinado sugar has a light caramel flavor to match its hue.
- Turbinado sugar boasts a satisfying crunch with its larger sized granules.
- And these sturdy little sweets don’t melt away while baking! The beautiful golden gems you roll onto your cookie dough will still sparkle even after baking! (How many times have I rolled a cookie in granulated sugar, baked, and been unable to find any of the sparkly pizazz?!?! No more!!)
Chewy Chocolate-Molasses-Spice Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter, melted and cooled
- ¾ cup sugar
- ¼ cup molasses
- 1 egg
- 1½ cups flour
- ½ cup cocoa
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon cloves
- turbinado sugar for rolling
Instructions
- Stir together melted butter, sugar, molasses, and egg in a medium sized pot or bowl. (Consider using a medium sized pot to melt the butter and to stir up the dough.)
- In a separate bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves.
- Stir dry ingredients into butter mixture until smooth.
- Roll the dough into 2 tablespoon balls and refrigerate cookie dough balls in a sealed container for at least 1 hour.
- Roll the dough balls (or at least the tops) in turbinado sugar.
- Bake the cookies at 350°F for 10 minutes and immediately follow these instructions to achieve a perfectly round cookie. Cool on the baking sheet for at least 4 minutes. Move the cookies to another flat surface to cool completely.
