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You don’t have to go all the way to Starbucks to enjoy gingersnap molasses cookies. You can recreate your own Starbucks ginger molasses cookies in the comfort of your own kitchen! I am sure you will agree that this is the best ginger molasses cookie recipe. If you are a fan of gingerbread cookies, you will love these!
A Starbucks ginger molasses cookies recipe is a great one to choose if you want sweet, chewy cookies for the holidays. They’re just like the Starbucks cookies!
Also try iced shaken espresso, stained glass Christmas cookies, chocolate peppermint dipped kisses, or struffoli honey balls.
These are sweet, soft and delicious and I guarantee one of these chewy ginger molasses cookies just won’t be enough. Taste the best ginger molasses cookie recipe and you’ll want to help yourself to another!
Starbucks ginger cookies are just as good with a cup of coffee as a snack as they are topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for dessert. You can enjoy all the benefits of Starbucks copycat ginger molasses cookies without having to go to a coffee shop.
A Look at the Ingredients
To prepare homemade Starbucks Christmas cookies, you’re going to need some pantry staples and equipment like a wire rack and airtight container.
Flour, sugar, butter, egg, baking soda, salt, and sugar combine for these copycat Starbucks ginger molasses treats. Go ahead and use shortening instead of unsalted butter if you prefer. The two are pretty much interchangeable in most baking recipes.
Ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg also go into the mix to add warm, earthy flavours to your favourite cookie. The main flavours in the finished homemade Starbucks Christmas cookies will be the richness of the molasses and a subtle hint of spice.
How to Make Homemade Starbucks Christmas Cookies
The first thing to do, to make gingersnap molasses cookies, is cream together the butter and brown sugar. Next, add the molasses and then the egg. Mix in the dry ingredients, namely the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices, and gather up the dough.
Roll about ¼-cup of the dough into a ball and roll it in white sugar. Put it on a parchment lined baking sheet and press down with moistened fingers. Repeat with the rest of the dough and sugar. Now all that’s left to do is get to work and bake the Starbucks molasses cookie recipe!
Tips for Making Ginger Molasses Cookies Starbucks Style
Before you begin mixing the ingredients together you should preheat the oven. By the time it’s warm enough your dough should be ready. Also, line a cookie sheet or two with parchment paper.
This recipe makes 12 cookies but, just like real Starbucks ginger molasses cookies, they are big. So I recommend adding no more than 6 cookies to each baking sheet. You can bake one batch of 6 and then the other.
For a real copycat Starbucks ginger molasses flavour, stick to the quantities specified in the recipe. The finished cookies should have a hint of spice. I know some festive cookies are heavily spiced but that’s not true of these Starbucks ginger molasses cookie recipe.
You can add as much of each spice as you like, of course. But I prefer the main flavour being the molasses, just to keep these true to the Starbucks gingerbread cookies taste.
It’s handy to coat the ¼-cup scoop with some non-stick cooking spray before scooping up a cookie-sized piece of dough. It just comes out a little bit easier if you do this.
What Kind of Molasses to Use
I recommend using regular un-sulphured molasses. The reason for that is blackstrap molasses is too strong here. Blackstrap would obliterate the delicate spice flavours in the Starbucks molasses cookies, so I wouldn’t use it to make the best ginger molasses cookie recipe. Baked cookies are better with delicate flavours, especially when, like these, they boast a spicy-sweet deliciousness.
If you have blackstrap molasses and want to use that, then I would suggest swapping the dark brown sugar in the recipe for light brown sugar. I might also increase the amount of ginger.
What’s the Difference between Molasses and Gingerbread Cookies?
So these cookies contain molasses and ginger. So, are they molasses cookies or gingerbread? The main difference between these types of cookies is gingersnap cookies are crisp and snappy while molasses cookies are soft in texture.
Molasses cookies typically contain ginger but much less than you’ll find in gingerbread or gingersnap cookies. Either variety is ideal for Christmas time though and also a great idea for gifts.
Where Does Molasses Come From?
Since molasses is one of the main flavors in this Starbucks cookie recipe, you might like to know more about this ingredient. As you know, molasses is a dark, thick, sweet syrup. It’s made during the sugar-making process.
After sugar beets or sugar cane is crushed, the juice is extracted then boiled down to make sugar crystals. The brown syrup left behind after the sugar is removed is the molasses. Repeating this process results in different molasses types.
Sulfured molasses has been treated with sulfur dioxide which works as a preservative. Because you can vaguely taste it, I prefer un-sulfured molasses. Most molasses from the grocery store is the un-sulfured kind.
Light molasses is the most common type sold and the best one for pies, cakes, and these Starbucks ginger molasses cookies. It gives a wonderfully sweet, rich flavour without being too strong. If a recipe doesn’t specify which type to use, then use this.
What about Dark Molasses?
Dark molasses is the result of re-boiling the light molasses and this is thicker, richer and less sweet. It tastes very strong and pairs nicely with ginger to make ginger cake. You can also add it to barbecue sauce or baked beans for richness.
Boil the syrup a third time and the result will be blackstrap molasses, which is very dark, very thick and slightly bitter. It is often added to livestock feed since it’s a little richer in nutrients than other types. It can be used in BBQ and on meats but isn’t the best choice for gingersnap molasses cookies.
Find these cookies and others in my holiday cookie box
If you like these gingerbread molasses cookies, you might also like White Chocolate Dipped Ginger Cookies, Chocolate Dipped Peppermint Meringue Kiss Christmas Cookies or Nutellotti Soft Nutella Cookies with Filling.
Just Like Starbucks Ginger Molasses Cookies Copycat Recipe
Just Like Starbucks Ginger Molasses Cookies Copycat Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 Cup all purpose flour
- 1 Cup brown sugar, dark
- 3/4 Cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1/4 Cup molasses, light flavoured
- 1 egg, large
- 2 Teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/4 Teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 Teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 Teaspoon salt
- 1/4 Teaspoon nutmeg
- 3/4 Cup granulated sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Prepare a couple large baking sheets by lining them with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl with an electric mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the brown sugar and butter until light and airy 3 to 4 minutes.
- Slowly stream in the molasses, once combined, scrape the sides and add in the egg. Mix until fully combined and airy again.
- Sift in the flour, salt, baking soda, and spices into the butter mixture, and combine on low speed until a thick dough forms.
- Place the white sugar into a small bowl and set it nearby
- Fill a small cup or bowl with water and set it nearby.
- Scoop about ¼ cup of the dough out into the palm of your hand, roll the dough into a ball.
- Take the ball of dough and roll it in the bowl of sugar so that it is generously covered in sugar. Set the ball onto a baking sheet then dip your fingers into the cup of water to dampen them and press the ball down lightly to flatten the ball a bit.
- Repeat this step, keeping plenty of space between the cookies on the baking sheet. You should be able to fit about 5 to 6 cookies on each sheet.
- Bake one sheet of cookies at a time on the middle rack of your preheated oven. Keep the other sheet of dough in your fridge while the first sheet is baking. Bake for 10 ot 15 minutes, until the cookies have hardened on the edges and have spread.
- Take the cookies out and let cool.
- Bake the second tray of cookies.
Nutrition
These homemade Starbucks cookies are perfect for the holidays. I find this to be the best ginger molasses cookie recipe and would recommend making plenty of Starbucks ginger molasses cookies this year!
Bella Bucchiotti
Bella Bucchiotti is a Canadian-based syndicated food, travel, and lifestyle writer, photographer, and creator at xoxoBella. She founded xoxoBella in 2015, where she shares her love for food, dogs, sustainability, fitness, crafts, outdoor adventures, travel, and philanthropy to encourage others to run the extra mile, try new recipes, visit unfamiliar places, and stand for a cause. Bella creates stress-free and family-friendly recipes for weeknight dinners and festive feasts.
They were soft, chewy, and full of warm spices that made my whole kitchen smell amazing. If you’re into cozy, gingery treats, you’ll love these as much as I did.
There was a time when I spent every spare moment day after day searching online for the recipe that best recreated these Starbucks cookies. You see I’d lost the official recipe printed on on cards and freely given away from a display on Starbucks’ own counter. The edges had become feathered from handling while in the midst of baking but I treasured the cards and the cookies equally.
In all my searching and testing THIS ONE CAME THE CLOSEST. The proportions of spices are different– the original relied more on the ginger and less on cinnamon– and misses only one thing: 1 T of ground coffee. It was a promotion for something like an Anniversary Blend or whatever. But they were named Coffee-Infused Ginger Cookies so a tablespoon of medium to dark ground coffee seems apt.
Ooh I need to try them that way – thanks for the tips! I just love these too.
This recipe knocks the others out of the park. We love these cookies and my kids and I make them often.
Yes! They are a true favorite!
I have made this recipe for a few Christmas parties and they are delicious.
I have made this recipe a few times and it has never been anything less than excellent.
I’m so grateful to have this recipe, thank you for sharing. My son in law thanks you too, lol.
These are my fave cookies for this time of year – delighted to hear you love them too!
These cookies are delicious! I added more ground and some chopped candied ginger for more of that ginger kick. I used a #20 scoop which gave me 15 very large cookies. Thanks!
So glad you liked them! They’re one of my faves too.
Can I freeze this dough to bake later?
Yes you can. You can also cut the cookies before freezing and bake them from frozen if you don’t mind a thicker, chewier texture. Otherwise, just thaw first. The dough should be fine for up to 3 months in the freezer.
Mine and my families absolute favourite cookies!
Can confirm to bake only one rack of cookies at a time, I was in a rush and baked both and the underside sheet has no nice cracks.
Still yummy though!
It’s more of a temperature thing. I find the middle rack is best for these and unless you have a massive oven that means one tray at a time. But everyone’s oven works differently. Glad to hear they still came out tasty even if they looked different 🙂
Firstly, this recipe is great and turned out delicious! I did make a few modifications however:
1) Substituted ground allspice for nutmeg.
2) I also mixed some vanilla sugar and cinnamon into the white sugar for dusting cookies after rolling and before baking.
3) Used ~ 2-3 Tbsp of dough instead of a 1/4 cup of dough per cookie.
As for baking time, since mine were smaller, I experimented with times and found that 11-12 min was ideal for my larger single lined aluminum cookie sheet. However, for my double lined Cuisinart cookie sheet, 11-12min was too much and resulted in batches with slightly overdone bottoms with a crunchier texture rather than chewier. Next time I’ll stick to my aluminum sheet since 11-12 min was perfect.
I made a double batch which yielded about 42 cookies using roughly 2-3Tbsp of dough/cookie.
*Question: What is the shelf life for storing them on the counter vs. in the fridge?
Thanks!
I usually keep mine at room temperature and they’re gone very quickly but should be good for 4 or 5 days in there. In the refrigerator maybe up to a week although I haven’t tried refrigerating mine. One great tip is to add a slice of bread to your container or cookie jar in with the cookies. It will prevent them getting hard and stale for an extra day or so – a baker taught me this!
Huge hit with my family! I think I’ll have to make them again tomorrow