Thick, chewy, cinnamon and ginger spiced cookies that are the perfect cross between an oatmeal cookie + a molasses cookie! Made with high quality ingredients like whole wheat flour, pasture raised butter + eggs, and sweetened entirely with molasses and maple syrup for a subtly sweet, whole grain cookie that tastes like the classic and is made in just 1-bowl in under 30 minutes!
Growing up, my grandparents always, always had a jar of molasses in their pantry. They still do, in fact. We used it to make homemade Boston baked beans (the best!), for holiday baking, and sometimes, if we were feeling extra fancy, we’d even make molasses milk to sip on at their house (think chocolate milk, but with molasses instead of chocolate syrup).
I can remember my first taste of molasses milk- bold, smoky, slightly bitter, just barely sweet, and not entirely cut out for the palate of a toddler, and yet undeniably delicious. It was a grown-up flavor that made me scrunch up my face in dislike and yet I couldn’t resist going back for another sip because, woah, this stuff tastes weird.
Fast forward 25+ years and I’m still enticed by molasses’ dark, bold, bitter, subtly sweet flavor. I love drizzling it into coffee and over oatmeal, using it to turn cakes and cookies into gingerbread, and as soon as the overnight temperature starts to drop in the fall, my heart (and my stomach) always leads me back to molasses cookies.
For these Chewy Maple Molasses Oatmeal Cookies I took two of my absolute favorite cookie flavors: oatmeal raisin and ginger molasses and fused them to create a chewy, whole grain, texture-filled oatmeal cookie that’s boldly flavored with molasses.
I kept the spices relatively subtle (just a half teaspoon each of ginger and cinnamon!) because I wanted these cookies to be noticeably molasses cookies, not gingerbread cookies. If you’re feeling in the gingerbread mood, go ahead and double the spices (and consider adding some nutmeg, too, for maximum gingerbread goodness) to achieve your desired spice level.
I wanted to maintain the bitter, strong, smoky, not-quite-sweet flavor of molasses, so these cookies are only barely sweetened with maple syrup, which adds some natural sweetness while still keeping them on the mildly sweet side.
The best part about these cookies? They’re made entirely with ingredients I always have in my kitchen and come together in 1-bowl in 20 minutes flat, so they can literally be made anytime a cookie craving strikes.
If you try them out, let me know what you think! Leave a comment below, or take a picture of your Chewy Molasses Oatmeal Cookies and share it with me on Instagram; I love seeing my recipes in your kitchen! Happy baking, friends!
- 8 Tablespoons (1 stick, 1/2 cup) room temperature butter, preferably grass-fed/organic*
- 1/4 cup blackstrap molasses
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
- 3/4 cups white whole wheat flour**
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ginger
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- optional: 1/2 cup raisins, if you like 'em!
- 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper (not necessary- just for easier clean up).
- 2. Place butter, molasses, and maple syrup into a large mixing bowl and use a sturdy wooden spoon or whisk to fully mash/mix them together. Once no lumps of butter remain, add in egg and vanilla and whisk again to fully combine. Add all remaining ingredients, including raisins, if using, and mix well with a spoon until fully combined.
- 3. Scoop cookie dough into 10 large balls, spaced at least 2 inches apart on the pan (I like to use a 1/4 cup measuring cup to portion them out evenly, and a tiny spatula or spoon to help scoop the dough from the measuring cup). Bake for 10 minutes, or until cookies are golden around the edges and still soft in the middle.
- 4. Let cookies cool on the pan for 5 minutes before eating warm, or let cool completely and transfer to an airtight container and store at room temperature for up to 5 days.
- *Be sure your butter is soft before using! If not, place it in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave in 5 second increments until very soft, but not melted. We love buying pasture-raised/grass-fed/rganic butter (Vital Farms and Kerrygold are two faves) for it's superior taste + quality!
- **White whole wheat flour has a more mild flavor and texture compared to traditional whole wheat, but the same nutrition profile. Any combination of all-purpose, whole wheat, or spelt flour would work here in it's place (though I can find it on the shelves at every major grocery store!). Whole wheat pastry flour is another great alternative, too! I haven't tested it, but suspect any gluten-free all purpose flour blend would work here, as would oat flour (though the cookies may be slightly more delicate/crumbly).