Christmasy Sugar & Spice Cookies

These Christmas cookies belong to the molasses-spice family that shows up on every cookie tin in December. The base is the classic warm-spice trifecta: cinnamon, cloves, and ginger. The molasses brings deep brown-sugar depth and that signature chewy texture that softer molasses cookies are known for.

The roll-in-sugar move at the end is what gives these their crackly, sparkly Christmas-cookie tops. Granulated sugar mixed with extra cinnamon coats each ball before baking, then cracks open as the cookies spread and rise in the oven, leaving those signature fissures. Don’t skip it; these cookies look bare without the sugar shell.

Do not overmix once the flour goes in. Molasses cookies turn tough fast if you work the dough too much. Mix just until everything is combined and stop.

Underbake slightly. Pull them at 10 minutes when the edges are set but the centers still look soft and slightly puffy. They’ll firm up on the cooling sheet, leaving the centers chewy. Twelve minutes pushes them past chewy into crisp territory.

Room temperature butter is the right starting point for proper creaming. Cold butter won’t whip air in, melted butter spreads cookies flat.

Pro Tips

• Use unsulphured molasses, not blackstrap; blackstrap is too bitter and intense.
• Chill the dough 30 minutes if it feels too soft to roll into balls.
• Use a small cookie scoop for uniform size and even baking.
• Store with a slice of bread in the container to keep cookies soft for days.
• Freeze cookie dough balls for fresh-baked cookies on demand.

Variations

• Add ½ teaspoon ground cardamom or nutmeg for extra warmth.
• Sub maple syrup for half the molasses for a milder, sweeter version.
• Press a sliver of crystallized ginger or a chocolate chip into each cookie before baking.