Newfoundland Molasses Spice Cookies

Every Newfoundlander has tasted these at some point or another. These Molasses Spice Cookies are soft and chewy on the inside with a slightly firm outside. Be fair warned, they are exceptionally spiced so they will taste warm in your mouth!

If you ask me to define the taste of Christmas – and, I know that sounds weird! – I would certainly include molasses in the description. I would also mention strongly flavoured baking spices like cloves. I think that’s why these Molasses Spice Cookies conjure up memories of Christmases past for me. Molasses has always been a staple ingredient in my mom’s pantry just as it has been in mine. Have you tried my molasses bread? It’s the best bread you’ll ever eat!

I’ll try to describe the taste of Christmas to you – just for fun! To me, based on my upbringing and traditions, Christmas tastes sweet and warm. It’s inviting and friendly, it’s comforting and hearty, and it’s also homey and amateur. There’s no room for perfection in Christmas baking! Are you conjuring up the taste?

If you’re having difficulty, then all you need to do is imagine the taste of these Molasses Spice Cookies – or better yet, bake them in your home and you won’t need to use your imagination. You’ll know exactly what Christmas tastes (and smells!) like to me!

WELCOME TO A LORD BYRON CHRISTMAS!

I’m going to tell you all about this recipe and how you can make it in your home this holiday season, but first, I want to tell you about what you can expect from Lord Byron’s Kitchen this Christmas. I know we’re getting closer to the big day, so it’s time to get to the holiday-themed recipes! Over the past decade, I have built a reputation for sharing series-type recipes. The most popular would be my annual 24 Cookies of Christmas, which was fashioned after an advent calendar. But, I have others that are only 12 days, which were fashioned after the 12 Days of Christmas.

This particular recipe is a part of my annual 24 Cookies of Christmas series. It’s my fourth series so far this year! And, I’m seriously contemplating publishing a fifth series too! So, welcome, Dear Reader, to Lord Byron’s 24 Cookies of Christmas – Volume 9! Just like every other series that I’ve shared over the years, this one will also see a new recipe shared each day for the next 24 days – even on Saturday and Sunday! You might be asking yourself, how many Christmas recipes could one possibly have or need? Well, I say you can never have too much of a good thing. And, I love having lots of choices. Who wants to prepare the same holiday recipes year after year?

SUBSCRIBE NOW AND NEVER MISS ANOTHER RECIPE!

Traditionally, every year I share a series of recipes that you might already be familiar with. For example, I’ve previously shared 12 Holiday Trifles, 12 Holiday Bars & Squares, and even these 12 Edible Holiday Wreath recipes! Also, some of my favourite recipe collections from previous years are my 75 Homemade Gifts from Your Kitchen, my 50 Make Ahead Freezer Friendly Christmas Recipes, and my 30 No-Bake Christmas Recipes post.

You really don’t want to miss one of these recipes, so if you have not yet subscribed to Lord Byron’s Kitchen, I encourage you to do so. That way, a new recipe will be emailed to you every day. You won’t have to bother to come looking for it! And, just in case you’re curious, you can see previous annual posts for my 24 Cookies of Christmas Series here!

INGREDIENTS NEEDED TO PREPARE THIS RECIPE

The following is a list of the ingredients needed to prepare this recipe. For exact amounts and measurements, refer to the printable recipe card located near the bottom of this post.

• Butter – Make sure your butter is at room temperature! I have made these with both salted and unsalted butter and there’s no difference in taste or appearance once all is said and done. Use what you have on hand.
• Brown Sugar – First of all, it has way more flavour than regular white sugar! And, in this recipe, brown sugar helps to keep the cookie moist and soft.
• Molasses – This gorgeous, sticky, sweet concoction is just boiled cane sugar.  When baking, the best molasses to use is fancy molasses.  Stay away from dark or blackstrap molasses unless instructed otherwise.  Fancy molasses is a light molasses. 
• Cloves – Ground cloves come from whole cloves which have been finely ground.  They are a flower bud that come from the clove tree.  Whole dried cloves look like small nails.  The name clove comes from the Latin word for nail.  They are extremely fragrant and commonly found in spiced cakes and confections.
• Ginger – Ground ginger is fresh ginger that has been peeled and dried before being ground into a powder.  It has a pale yellow in colour and has a pungent, spicy smell.  It adds a warming, spicy flavour to recipes.
• Cinnamon – Cinnamon is a spice created from the inner bark of the Cinnamomum tree.   The bark is dried until it curls into a roll known as a cinnamon stick.  These are ground into powder.  Commonly found in baked goods, cinnamon is an aromatic with a warming flavour.
• Egg – One large egg is all you need. Whenever you set out to bake, make sure your eggs are at room temperature too – just like your butter!
• Baking Soda 
• Flour – No need for anything special. Just use regular all-purpose flour. I have not tried this recipe with any other type of flour.
• Confectioner’s Sugar

HOW TO MAKE NEWFOUNDLAND MOLASSES SPICE COOKIES

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter, brown sugar, molasses, cloves, ginger, and cinnamon until well combined. Beat in the egg. Beat in the baking soda. Finally, beat in the flour until just incorporated. Don’t overmix or the cookie will be more tough than chewy.

Portion out slightly heaping tablespoons of the cookie dough and roll into balls. Place the balls onto the baking sheet leaving two inches of space between each ball. Bake the cookies for 11 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow the cookies to rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire cooling rack to finish cooling.

Once cooled, dust the tops with confectioner’s sugar and transfer to a food-safe container with a lid. Store at room temperature.

LET’S TALK ABOUT MOLASSES!

There are three types of molasses – light, dark, and blackstrap. If you boil cane sugar once, you will get light molasses. If you boil it twice, you’ll get dark molasses. So, boiling it three times must mean that you’ll get blackstrap molasses. Remember, the darker the molasses (blackstrap) the less sweet and more bitter it is.

Never use blackstrap molasses in a recipe unless instructed to do so by the author of the recipe. You can use light or dark without changing the taste drastically. There are also sulphured and unsulphured molasses. The difference between the two is that the sulphured molasses has been chemically treated with preservatives.

If you buy molasses to make these cookies and have lots left over, there’s plenty you can do with it. One of my favourite sources of recipe inspiration is Taste of Home. Here’s a list of 33 Amazing Molasses Recipes!

CAN I USE TREACLE INSTEAD?

Yes. In essence, treacle is the British version of molasses. It comes in two forms: light treacle or golden syrup, which is very similar to light molasses. Black treacle is similar to blackstrap molasses but is lighter in colour and not as bitter. I use unsulphured fancy molasses and black treacle interchangeably.

STORING, PACKAGING, & FREEZING

When it comes to most cookies, they taste best at room temperature, but they don’t hold up well to being left out on your countertop for long periods of time. Cookies will stay fresh in a cookie jar or food-safe container with a lid for 3-5 days if left to sit on your kitchen countertop. You can store them in a food-safe container in your fridge. When you want one, two, or half a dozen, take them out of the container and place them in a single layer on a plate. Let them sit at room temperature for 5 minutes and they’re ready!

If you plan to freeze these cookies, you certainly can! Once cooled, pile them into a clean, food-safe container. The container must be freezer friendly! You’ll want to ensure a very tight fitting lid too. I use these quite often when freezing baked goods. I like to place a sheet of plastic wrap over the top of the container before pushing the lid on. This helps to create a better seal. The goal is to keep all of that freshness locked in!  

You can freeze these cookies for up to three months. If you plan to give previously frozen cookies as a gift, I would lay them out onto a wire cooling rack to thaw completely. If packaging, wait until the condensation has evaporated. Whenever I work with anything covered in confectioner’s sugar or chocolate, I like to use a food-safe, latex glove to prevent getting fingerprints on it as much as possible! Once thawed, pile into cellophane bags and tie with a ribbon, or stack in a cookie tin/box.

QUESTIONS?

If I have not answered all of your questions in the text above, don’t hesitate to reach out to me! You can contact me by sending me a message in the comments section further down the page. I will try my best to answer as soon as possible! You might reach me even faster by following me on Facebook and sending me a private message. Scroll down below the recipe card to find my Follow Me on Social Media box and never miss another recipe!

Finally, as I stated previously, every day I will be posting a new recipe. If you miss one, don’t fret. You can find my entire collection of Christmas Recipes right here! There are over 200 Christmas recipes and counting. There’s something for everyone! Cheers!