Pam’s Soft Molasses Cookies

Posted by on Thursday, October 9th, 2014

soft-molasses-cookiesHome schooling allows us to enjoy so many special experiences and meet a lot of fabulous people.  About 15 years ago, I met Pam at a home school retreat in Alabama.  She shared her Soft Molasses Cookies with me way back then and later mailed me her recipe.  Through the years we mailed each other Christmas cards and now we keep up with each other through Facebook.  And I’ve made countless batches of these cookies. Pam, I don’t think I’ve ever told you how much my Granddaddy loved your Soft Molasses Cookies.  Granddaddy has been gone a while now, but I found great  joy in baking them for him each October for his birthday.  So in honor of a dear friend Pam, and in honor of the sweetest Granddaddy that ever walked this earth, I give you the recipe for a special fall treat.

  • 1/2 cup soft butter
  • 1/2 cup vegetable shortening (I use organic)
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1/2 cup molasses
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 2 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 4 cups plain flour
  • 2 1/4  teaspoons baking soda
  • 2 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • Extra sugar for coating

In a large bowl, cream butter and shortening.  Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy.  Beat in molasses, eggs, and vanilla.  Set mixture aside.  In another large bowl combine the flour, baking soda, and spices.  Blend with a wire whisk.  Gradually mix flour mixture into creamed mixture until dough is blended and smooth.  Use a 1 oz cookie dough scoop to measure scoop dough then roll dough into a ball using hands.  Drop cookie dough ball into a bowl of sugar and thouroughly coat the dough ball with the sugar.  Continue forming balls of dough and coating them with sugar.  Place coated balls of cookie dough about 3″ apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees for 11 minutes.  Remove cookies from oven.  I lightly press each cookie with a flat spatula to remove any excess air.  This keeps the cookies chewy and moist.  Store cookies in an airtight container.  Makes 3-4 dozen cookies

Filed in Uncategorized | 10 responses so far

10 Responses to “Pam’s Soft Molasses Cookies”

  1. carolinaheartstringson 03 Oct 2011 at 9:20 am 1

    My son would love these so much. These would be wonderful at Christmas time too! Great job with the picture Tara.

  2. Taraon 03 Oct 2011 at 4:53 pm 2

    Thanks Ladies. Yes these are perfect for Christmas too, and dipped in that caramel fondue.

  3. Mary Suttleson 04 Oct 2011 at 4:20 pm 3

    Have you ever made them with butter??? They look so good, I have everything but the shortening…

  4. Taraon 04 Oct 2011 at 5:12 pm 4

    Hi Mary,

    I probably have made these will all butter at some point in time. They may tend to spread out and be a little bit flatter. You could always bake a few to try then add a Tablespoon of flour if they are too thin for your preference.

  5. Carol Davison 24 Sep 2012 at 8:27 am 5

    We added some chocolate chips – amazing combination. A bakery here in town does the same, wins awards every year.

  6. Joan@Chocolateandmoreon 04 Oct 2012 at 10:06 am 6

    Tara, these sound fabulous. I haven’t had Molasses cookies in years. That’s about to change! Pinned.

  7. AshleyJon 08 Dec 2012 at 2:15 pm 7

    These are divine! I absolutely loved them. I drizzled melted bittersweet chocolate over half of the batch for a little extra variety, and it made them so pretty!

  8. Sarahon 02 Feb 2013 at 1:25 pm 8

    Found these and just finished making them with my daughter. AMAZING! Thank you so much for the great cookie recipe!

  9. Nancyon 29 Mar 2013 at 7:08 pm 9

    Can’t wait to try these! Sounds delicious. 😉 Thank you so much for sharing the recipe and the beautiful story.

  10. Nancyon 29 Mar 2013 at 7:10 pm 10

    Can’t wait to try these! Sounds delicious. Thank you so much for sharing the recipe and the beautiful story.