These Chewy Molasses Cookies were one of the highlights of our Thanksgiving chowdown and I have been instructed to share them ASAP!!

Can’t say I blame anyone for their bossiness. They’re addictive!

Not only are they chewy (my weak spot), they’re also big, spicy, soft and the epitome of holiday flavors. They will make your house smell amazing!

And they’re easy to whip up with pantry staples, so you can make them pretty much anytime, which is either a good or bad thing, depending on your willpower!

Once you’ve made the dough, you simply roll it into little balls and coat with crunchy sanding sugar

Then you use the bottom of a drinking glass to slightly flatten the cookies on the baking sheet and bake.

A mere 10 minutes later, it’s cookie time!

These would be terrific on a holiday cookie platter or for a bake sale or just to enjoy with a cup of tea while you sit and leisurely watch the snow fall (lol, as if that ever happens!)

I think they would also make great ice cream sandwiches which I don’t think I’m going to be able to wait until summer to test out! Yikes! And it’s only the beginning of cookie season!!

Chewy Molasses Cookies

Makes about 2 dozen

Prep Time: 20 minutes; Bake Time: 10-11 minutes

Ingredients

• 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

• 1 cup dark brown sugar, packed

• ¼ cup unsulfured molasses (not blackstrap)

• 1 large egg

• 2 ½ cups unbleached, all-purpose flour

• 2 teaspoons baking soda

• 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon

• ½ teaspoon kosher salt

• Sanding or demerara sugar for rolling the cookies in before baking

The Recipe

1. Preheat oven to 375ºF and line two large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.

2. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and brown sugar together for 3-4 minutes on medium-high speed until creamy. On low speed mix in the molasses and egg, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed.

3. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda , cinnamon and salt. On low speed, gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ones, scraping down the bowl as needed, until no traces of flour can be seen.

4. Pour some of the sanding sugar onto a plate. Wet your hands and then shake off as much water as you can so they are just damp. Roll the dough into small balls, about 1 ½ ounces, smaller than a golf ball, and then roll the balls around in the sugar, coating them all over (you may have to wet your hands a couple of times throughout the process if you find the dough is sticking to you—I did.) Place the balls on the prepared baking sheets, spacing them at least an inch or two apart. Use the bottom of a glass to slightly flatten the cookies.

5. Bake the sheets one at a time for about 10 minutes, turning the pan around back to front at the halfway mark. The cookies are done when they have flattened and sort of cracked on top. Try not to over bake because you want these to be chewy. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool for a few minutes, then use a spatula to remove the cookies from the tray and transfer to the wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with the second tray.

6. Cookies keep for at least a week in an airtight container at room temperature.

Enjoy!

Note: Recipe adapted from Repertoire by Jessica Battilana. I left out the 1 ½ teaspoons ground ginger cause I’m not a fan. I also made the cookies a little bit smaller and got 2 dozen instead of 18.