White Chocolate Molasses Cookies – Oh Sweet Basil

A perfectly soft molasses cookie recipe is essential for the holidays, but these white chocolate molasses cookies take things to a whole new level.

That’s right folks, these are not your typical holiday molasses cookie. I know that this is a pretty popular cookie, molasses or ginger snap, for this time of year, but that does not mean that it has to be completely traditional. These white chocolate chewy molasses cookies are actually an adapted recipe from my dad’s side of the family and is over 150 years old! I’ve been holding onto this recipe since I got it from my aunt last year just so that I could share it at the right time of year with all of you.

Family Holiday Traditions

My mom would spend hours in the kitchen baking the holiday recipes that had been passed down through the generations like this one just so we could deliver them to neighbors and families that my parents would find who were in need. Often the treats to those families included a little extra cash, gifts or toys for the kids.

In fact, sometimes my dad would even dress up as Santa so that the families wouldn’t know who he was when he dropped off the goodies. This white chocolate molasses cookies recipe is one we can use to pass on the same tradition which means that I feel like I should do as my mom did and teach my children. It’s hard sometimes. Some of the cookie dough got so squished and squashed that the white chocolate was sticking out everywhere and it looked like quite the mess but I’m so grateful for the memory of helping a 7 year old discover the magic of making cookies for the holidays to give to neighbors and friends and spread Christmas cheer.

Ingredients for White Chocolate Molasses Cookies

I am an avid cookie lover! I’ll choose a cookie over almost any other dessert (except pie, good golly I love pie!), but not all cookies are created equal. I love a thick and chewy cookie that is perfectly baked. I love them a little crispy around the edges and nice and chewy in the middle. These molasses cookies check all the important cookie boxes and the melty white chocolate in the middle is the best surprise. Here are the ingredients you will need:

• Butter, Shortening, or Lard – we usually do half and half
• Light Brown Sugar – adds sweetness and even more molasses flavor
• Egg – adds structure to the cookies
• Molasses – adds sweetness and perfect molasses flavor, Grandma’s brand is our favorite
• Flour – just regular all purpose
• Salt – enhances all the flavors and cuts through the sweetness
• Ground Cinnamon – adds warm holiday flavor
• Ground Ginger – you have to have ginger in a molasses cookies
• Allspice – adds a little extra pop of flavor and holiday cheer
• Baking Soda – leavening agent for the cookie adding fluffiness and rise
• White Chocolate Melts – If you cannot find the baking melts you can buy the white almond bark and chop into small chunks and use that. The white chocolate is used to stuff the inside of the cookies and to drizzle on top.
• Granulated Sugar – used to coat the outside of the cookies adding a beautiful sparkle and slight crunch to the outside of the cookie

The measurements for each ingredient can be found in the recipe card down at the end of the post.

How to Make Molasses Cookies

Soft molasses cookies are just a few steps away! Here are the basic steps…

1. Mix the wet ingredients together. I like to cream the butter/shortening with the sugar first in a stand mixer until it’s light and fluffy and then add the sugar, eggs and molasses and mix together well.
2. Combine the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, salt and spices.
3. Combine the wet and dry ingredients. Slowly add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined.
4. Cover and refrigerate. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.
5. Prep: Preheat the oven and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
6. Stuff the dough. After the dough chills, pull it out and form into stuff dough balls (see section below).
7. Roll in sugar. Roll the dough balls into sugar that it is coated on all sides.
8. Bake. Place on a baking sheet and bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes.
9. Drizzle with white chocolate. If you want to make them look a little fancier, drizzle with melted white chocolate.

All these instructions in full detail can be found in the recipe card at the end of the post. You can also print and/or save the recipe there.

How to Stuff Cookies

Stuffing cookies with more yummy stuff is super easy and a fun way to add twists on old classics. In fact, our Biscoff stuffed snickerdoodles are one of my favorite cookies of all time! Give those babies a try!

Using a cookie scoop, scoop out enough dough for one cookie. Flatten it in your hand into a disc shape. Place the white chocolate melts in the middle and then fold up the dough around the chocolate so it is completely sealed inside the dough. That’s it! It is ready for baking!

If you’re going to use something like Nutella to stuff a cookie, like our Nutella banana muffins, you will want to freeze the Nutella first so it’s easier to stuff into the middle.

What is Molasses?

Molasses is a byproduct of producing sugar. It is a dark, sweet syrup with a very obvious snap or bite to it. There is a range of molasses out there from mild molasses flavor to a super strong blackstrap molasses. You can use any variety you want, but blackstrap will probably be too strong. We prefer Grandma’s brand if you can find it and Brer Rabbit brand as a second choice.

What is the Difference Between Molasses Cookies and Gingersnaps?

The main difference is that molasses cookies are chewy, versus ginger cookies that are snappier and crisper in texture.

Watch How These Molasses Cookies are Made…

Storage Tips

Store leftover cookies at room temperature in an airtight container. They will keep for up to a week.

These cookies also freeze very well. Place them in a freezer safe container. They will keep for up to 3 months.

Christmas baking requires the warm comforting flavors of molasses cookies. We have taken my centuries old family recipe for molasses cookies and stuffed them with white chocolate. There isn’t another recipe out there like this one! We hope they find their way to your Christmas cookie plate this year!

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This recipe was originally posted as part of a collaboration with the Ohio Poultry Association to bring you a fun “Take a Bite of My State Cookie EGGS-change” where we all are chatting about our state’s cookie.

This cookie recipe actually spent a little time in Utah and since Utah is huge, and I mean HUGE about the holidays, neighbor treats and goodies and spreading the Holiday cheer I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to tell you all about this bomb diggity cookie that I made even better. Our family has always and will always be about the holiday treats. And make sure you check out the cookies from the exchange, there’s Aimee from Shugary Sweets, Tanya from Lemons for Lulu who brought Buckeye Brownie Cookies, Megan from Country Cleaver, Laurie of Simply Scratch, and Julianne of Beyond Frosting with Maple Sugar Cookies.