If you’re looking for all of the goodness of fall spices and flavors, but also craving a dose of chocolate, Soft and Chewy Chocolate-Molasses-Spice Cookies are the antidote! These plump, round cookies flaunt perfectly cracked tops and sprinkles of turbinado sugar. But they aren’t just dazzling to the eyes! Soft and 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 sitting at the breakfast table while my mother retrieved an unmarked quart jar of molasses. She used a spoon to slowly and carefully drizzle the thick, rich, sweet, amber-colored molasses over the made from scratch sour dough bread she sliced 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) does not bake the same as the molasses found in the grocery stores. Also, make sure you’re not using blackstrap molasses for any recipe that doesn’t specifically call for it, as it will be strong and bitter.
I made some adjustments to this recipe so the Soft and 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 most perfect for fall and winter baking.
- Turbinado sugar has a light caramel flavor to match it’s hue.
- Turbinado sugar boasts a satisfying crunch with it’s larger sized granules.
- And these sturdy little sweets don’t melt away while baking! So 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 I’d aimed for?!?! No more!!)
And don’t worry if you can’t find turbinado sugar at your local grocery store. I’ve got you covered here!
Soft and 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.
