Hello friends! It’s time for our third and final installment of Inside the Baker’s Kitchen with KitchenAid! I want to show you my very favorite kitchen appliance, and also make my favorite spicy, sweet molasses cookies.
This 5 qt. KitchenAid® Stand Mixer is where luxury meets necessity in my kitchen. I use it for everything from cake batters to bread loaves. It’s just a work-horse. The hum of this stand mixer of is exactly familiar to me… and it usually means cookies are in my future. KitchenAid now has beautiful ceramic bowls to use with the 5 qt. stand mixers. They’re beautiful, durable, and feel so special in my baker’s kitchen. Really the most special thing!
Chewy edges, soft and cakey centers. Holiday spiced, dark chocolate studded, utterly perfect because they’re cookies.
Naturally they’re topped with just a touch of sea salt. Sweet meets salty meets perfect all around.
For more Baker’s Kitchen inspiration: Sweet and Savory Buttermilk Biscuits and Creamy Spiced Squash Soup with Parmesan Thyme Popovers.
Brown sugar is essential in these cookies. It’s a solid base for the molasses and spice flavors.
Brown sugar is creamed with softened butter until light and fluffy. In the meantime, the dry ingredients are sifted together. Flour, leavening, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, cardamom, and (spicy bonus!) cracked black pepper.
I love this ceramic stand mixer mixing bowl. It’s weighty, sturdy, and just a really beautiful thing to work with in the kitchen.
This molasses cookie dough will be soft and fluffy as it comes together.
Because the dough is so tender. It needs a bit of resting time in the refrigerator to chill and settle. After an hour in the refrigerator, the dough will be ready to scoop onto cookie sheets and bake off into cake cookies.
I feel like every cookie should go into the oven sprinkled with a bit of sea salt.
Salt to balance the sweet.
These cookies are tender, cake-y, fragrant and spicy, and studded with chocolate. They feel like the perfect addition to our holiday good times.
This post is in partnership with KitchenAid: adored and all up in my baker’s kitchen.
PrintMolasses Ginger and Dark Chocolate Cookies

Soft and cakey spiced cookies studded with dark chocolate!
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- big pinch of fresh ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt, plus more for sprinkling
- 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup unsulfured molasses
- 1 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom cloves, pepper, and salt. Make sure no lumps remain.
- In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together butter and brown sugar on low speed. Beat for 3 to 5 minutes until light, fluffy, and creamy.
- Stop the mixer, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the egg. Beat the egg into the mixture for 1 minute. Beat in the vanilla extract.
- Add the molasses and beat on low until thoroughly incorporated.
- Add the dry ingredients all at once and beat on low until just incorporated.
- Stop the mixer and add the chocolate chips. Use a spatula to fold the chocolate chips into the dough.
- Refrigerate the dough for at least one hour before baking.
- Place racks in the center and upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Scoop cookie dough by the heaping tablespoonful onto the prepared baking sheet, leaving about 2-inches of space between each cookie ball.
- Bake for 12 minutes until just browned around the edges and the tops begin the crinkle. Remove from the oven and allow to rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool before storing. Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Betty
o god I need to never look on your blog again (!)
I’m salivating.
These look scrummy!
Betty x
The Betty Stamp
Morgan
Thanks so much for this awesome cookie recipe! I made them Xmas eve, and they were definitely a bright spot in the holiday madness. I love how they are sort of a combo of gingerbread cookies AND choc chip cookies, hitting the spot for both those cravings! Thank you!!
stacey
I’ve tried a number of your recipes so when I saw this one, I knew it was a must! I made these for my family for Christmas. The cookies were a loving reminder of the days when my grandparents would keep molasses cookies in their cookie jar (my grandmother’s favorite). The chocolate chips give it a nice update and they were super moist and flavorful. Thank you (as always) for sharing such a delicious recipe!
The Queen of Dreaming
Mmm coolest cookies ever!!
https://justsem.wordpress.com/
Liz Wieser
Hi, I don’t know how I found my way to your website, Joy, but I am so glad I did! I made these cookies for an annual cookie swap party and…. your recipe won best cookie! Thanks for the great recipe.
Michelle
Made these cookies the day you posted this recipe. I love the cardamon and pepper addition. I will be making these again! Thanks for sharing such a fabulous recipe. I also really appreciate you doing the work to make the recipe easy to print. I am new to your site but will be back often.
Kelly @ Laughter, Strength, and Foodk
I, actually, just made ginger molasses cookies tonight. The only thing missing was the chocolate…something I will definitely have to fix next time I make them!
Leslie Rossi
These look great! Will add to my baking list this weekend! Thanks and Merry Christmas :)
Leslie
http://www.alifewellconsumed.com
Jennifer @ Show Me the Yummy
I need that mixing bowl…with a side of those cookies, please! :)
Emily
Hi, Joy! If i wanted to make the dough a few days ahead of baking how long would you say it would keep in the refrigerator? In general, would it depend on the cookie? Love your site!
Arthur in the Garden!
Wow! I didn’t know KA had a ceramic bowl, either! I have been wanting the glass bowl but now……
Cathy
Hello, can I leave the chocolate out if I just want the molasses cookies? I am looking for a dark molasses cookie with a cracked top that is chewy.
Tori@Gringalicious.com
I love being inside your kitchen Joy! These cookies look amazing!
Kristina
Hi Joy. I don’t (often) comment because my blog is certainly not a culinary one (I wish!!). I (very rarely) try and replicate your incredible recipes. You are just TOO good. That said, I am a BIG fan. Your blog is my go-to for recipes when I want to wow my fiancé (or satisfy my own VERY sweet tooth).
I just wanted to quickly comment today because I am SO excited to learn that you will be leading the next ABM book club. I have always appreciated that you share relevant news articles (silly ones too!) as well as your love of reading on this blog. Can’t wait to read along with you :-)
xoxo
Mrs. Hooah
*SUCH* an inspiration in the kitchen and as a person :) those cookies make my mouth water. Also? I’m such a fan of you!! :)
Ella
I love my KitchenAid Stand Mixer SO much! And these cookies look vanderful (yes… that was on purpose. I need coffee)
http://www.youtube.com/sparklesandsuch26
Kristina
Joy, I am a BIG fan. I don’t often comment, because my blog does not (very often) attempt to re-create (even a variation of) your recipes. You are just too good. You are however my baking inspiration and I use your recipes all. the. time. at home.
I just wanted to quickly stop by and share how excited I am to have you lead the next ABM book club. I have always loved that you share relevant news articles (and silly ones too) as well as your love of reading on your blog.
Just wanted to send some positive vibes your way :-)
saltandserenity
On my, not sure which one I am more excited about… the ginger molasses dark chocolate cookies or the ceramic KA bowls. Both are quite lovely.
Taylor @ Food Faith Fitness
Chewy edges, soft and cakey centers. Holiday spiced, dark chocolate studded, utterly perfect because they’re cookies.
That sentence just made me want to eat the pictures on my screen.
I LOVE my Kitchenaid, but did not know they had a ceramic bowl. NEEDITNOW. Pinned!
neev
love the bowl !!!
Ariana
Lovely mixing bowl! And I just told my husband about these cookies as I was reading this and he said he would buy me that ceramic kitchen aid bowl if it meant I would make these cookies for him -ha! Thanks Joy, hope you are having a lovely week!