Bourbon Molasses Cookies

Ashley Manila

Made with brown sugar and plenty of festive spices, these Bourbon Molasses Cookies are soft and flavorful!

4.79 from 33 votes

PRINT RECIPE PIN RECIPE

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 10

Inactive Time 4

Total Time 4 30

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 2 dozen

Ingredients

6 and 1/4 cups (750g) all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking soda
1 and 1/2 Tablespoons ground ginger
1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1 TINY pinch finely ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 ounces unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 and 1/4 cups (479g) light brown sugar, packed
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
2 large eggs room temperature
1/2 cup molasses (not blackstrap variety)
3 Tablespoons bourbon optional
1/2 cup granulated sugar (for rolling the cookie dough)

Instructions

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, black pepper, and salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl using a handheld electric mixer, beat together the butter and brown sugar on medium-high speed until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 2 minutes, scraping down the sides as needed. Add in the vanilla and orange zest and beat until combined. Reduce the mixer speed to medium-low. Add in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add in the molasses and bourbon and beat until combined. Gradually add in the dry ingredients and beat until it’s evenly incorporated.
Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, and up to 3 days.

When ready to bake:

Preheat oven to 350 (F). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.
Roll the dough into 3 Tablespoon sized balls. Fill a small and shallow bowl with granulated sugar. Roll each ball in the sugar until it's completely coated. Place the sugar coated cookie dough balls on the prepared baking sheets, leaving 2 inches between each ball for spreading.
Bake, one tray at a time, for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the cookies have puffed up and have begun to slightly crack on top. (They will crack more as they cool, so don’t over bake!)
Remove from the oven and place the pan on a cooling rack. Cool cookies for 5 minutes on the baking sheet, then carefully transfer the cookies to a separate cooling rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining cookie dough.
Serve cookies warm, or completely cool them and store them in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Cookies may also be frozen for up to 3 months.

Notes

You may make smaller cookies or large cookies, but you will need to adjust the baking time.

Tried it and loved it?Snap a picture and share it with me on Instagram @Bakerbynature and by using the hashtag #BakerByNature

Recipe by Ashley Manila at Baker by Nature: https://flow-hatch.live/bourbon-molasses-cookies/%3C/p%3E%3C/div%3E%3C/div%3E%3Cscript%3Ewindow.wprm_recipes = {"recipe-45721":{"type":"food","name":"Bourbon Molasses Cookies","slug":"wprm-bourbon-molasses-cookies","image_url":"https:\/\/bakerbynature.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/bourbonmolassescookies1-1-of-1.jpg","rating":{"count":33,"total":158,"average":4.79,"type":{"comment":33,"no_comment":0,"user":0},"user":0},"ingredients":[{"uid":0,"amount":"6 and 1\/4","unit":"cups (750g)","name":"all-purpose flour","notes":"","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"unit_id":6330,"id":901,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"6 and 1\/4","unit":"cups (750g)","unitParsed":"cups (750g)"}}},{"uid":1,"amount":"3","unit":"teaspoons","name":"baking soda","notes":"","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"unit_id":4983,"id":956,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"3","unit":"teaspoons","unitParsed":"teaspoons"}}},{"uid":2,"amount":"1 and 1\/2","unit":"Tablespoons","name":"ground ginger","notes":"","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"unit_id":4976,"id":1337,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1 and 1\/2","unit":"Tablespoons","unitParsed":"Tablespoons"}}},{"uid":3,"amount":"1 and 1\/2","unit":"teaspoons","name":"ground cinnamon","notes":"","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"unit_id":4983,"id":921,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1 and 1\/2","unit":"teaspoons","unitParsed":"teaspoons"}}},{"uid":4,"amount":"1","unit":"teaspoon","name":"ground cloves","notes":"","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"unit_id":4974,"id":1899,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1","unit":"teaspoon","unitParsed":"teaspoon"}}},{"uid":5,"amount":"1\/2","unit":"teaspoon","name":"ground allspice","notes":"","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"unit_id":4974,"id":1594,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1\/2","unit":"teaspoon","unitParsed":"teaspoon"}}},{"uid":6,"amount":"1","unit":"","name":"TINY pinch finely ground black pepper","notes":"","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"id":2150,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1","unit":"","unitParsed":""}}},{"uid":7,"amount":"1\/2","unit":"teaspoon","name":"salt","notes":"","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"unit_id":4974,"id":903,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1\/2","unit":"teaspoon","unitParsed":"teaspoon"}}},{"uid":8,"amount":"12","unit":"ounces","name":"unsalted butter, at room temperature","notes":"","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"unit_id":4973,"id":1047,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"12","unit":"ounces","unitParsed":"ounces"}}},{"uid":9,"amount":"2 and 1\/4","unit":"cups (479g)","name":"light brown sugar, packed","notes":"","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"unit_id":6331,"id":1007,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"2 and 1\/4","unit":"cups (479g)","unitParsed":"cups (479g)"}}},{"uid":10,"amount":"2","unit":"teaspoons","name":"vanilla extract","notes":"","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"unit_id":4983,"id":912,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"2","unit":"teaspoons","unitParsed":"teaspoons"}}},{"uid":11,"amount":"1\/2","unit":"teaspoon","name":"finely grated orange zest","notes":"","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"unit_id":4974,"id":1936,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1\/2","unit":"teaspoon","unitParsed":"teaspoon"}}},{"uid":12,"amount":"2","unit":"large ","name":"eggs","notes":"room temperature ","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"unit_id":4984,"id":4915,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"2","unit":"large ","unitParsed":"large "}}},{"uid":13,"amount":"1\/2","unit":"cup","name":"molasses (not blackstrap variety)","notes":"","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"unit_id":4975,"id":1937,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1\/2","unit":"cup","unitParsed":"cup"}}},{"uid":14,"amount":"3","unit":"Tablespoons","name":"bourbon","notes":"optional","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"unit_id":4976,"id":1096,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"3","unit":"Tablespoons","unitParsed":"Tablespoons"}}},{"uid":15,"amount":"1\/2","unit":"cup","name":"granulated sugar (for rolling the cookie dough)","notes":"","link":{"url":"","nofollow":"default"},"unit_id":4975,"id":2151,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1\/2","unit":"cup","unitParsed":"cup"}}}],"originalServings":"2","originalServingsParsed":2,"currentServings":"2","currentServingsParsed":2,"currentServingsFormatted":"2","currentServingsMultiplier":1,"originalSystem":1,"currentSystem":1,"favorite":false,"unitSystems":[1],"originalAdvancedServings":{"shape":"round","unit":"inch","diameter":0,"width":0,"length":0,"height":0},"currentAdvancedServings":{"shape":"round","unit":"inch","diameter":0,"width":0,"length":0,"height":0}}}