Spicy Chai Molasses Cookies are soft and chewy on the inside with deliciously crispy edges. Infused with fragrant chai spices, these take old-fashioned Molasses Cookies to another level! Video.
These soft and chewy Chai Molasses Cookies are very much like old-fashioned molasses cookies but with the addition of flavorful chai spices – cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, black pepper and ginger.
Perhaps these will do nothing for many of you. But to some, it will take you somewhere. Perhaps back to India. Perhaps to the place in dreams, that feel so much like home that slip out of memory once we awake. Going to India felt like that to me. Like I had been there before, like I knew it, so very familiar. Yet, every time I asked myself “why”, the gates of perception in my mind shut down tight. It was while drinking a cup of chai, that an answer like a whisper floated through me, like air – so light and fleeting…
Chai molasses Cookie Ingredients
- Butter (softened): Provides richness and flavor to the cookies.
- Granulated sugar: Adds sweetness and contributes to the texture of the cookies.
- Molasses: Gives the cookies a moist and chewy texture, as well as a rich, deep flavor.
- Egg: Helps bind the ingredients together and adds structure to the cookies.
- All-purpose flour: Provides structure to the cookies and gives them a tender crumb.
- Baking soda: Helps the cookies rise and gives them a slightly crisp texture.
- Salt: Enhances the flavors and balances the sweetness of the cookies.
- Chai spice mix (cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, black pepper, and ginger): Infuses the cookies with warm and aromatic flavors reminiscent of chai tea.
- Coarse sugar (for rolling): Adds a touch of sweetness and provides a beautiful crystallized texture on the cookies.
How to make Chai Molasses Cookies
The recipe is easy and straightforward. Just follow the directions and you’ll be happy with the results. 🙂
Roll the dough into small walnut sized balls and roll in coarse sugar. Place on a parchment-lined sheet pan ( or use a silicone baking mat). Bake for 8-10 minutes, until edges are crisp and cookies begin to crack. As they cool and deflate, they will crackle more.
Soft and chewy with deliciously crispy edges!
And- the cookies stay soft and chewy for several days after being baked, although they may not last that long!
Expert Tips
- Let the butter soften naturally to room temperature. Don’t melt it.
- Weigh the flour if you have a scale. Otherwise, fluff the flour with a fork before measuring, and spoon and level into the measuring cup.
- Check the cookies after 8-9 minutes in the oven- if they haven’t started to spread or crack, wack the tray on the oven rack firmly 1-2 times to initiate that spread. Continue baking 3-4 minutes.
- Making the dough ahead of time and refrigerating will allow you to roll into perfect-sized balls.
These Spicy Chai Molasses Cookies are like a cozy, warm hug from a friend.
Storage
The cookie dough keeps for up to 5 days in the fridge if you want to make it ahead or bake it in smaller batches.
Baked cookies keep for one week at room temperature, or can be frozen for later.
They make a sweet gift to someone who can use a little love. Here are more DIY gift ideas!
Serving Suggestions
Serve with a warm mug of Masala Chai for instant an mood-lifting effect. ✨
More Favorite cookie recipes!
- Coconut Macaroons
- Double Chocolate Chip Cookies (Diablo Cookies!)
- Chewy Triple Ginger Cookies
- Snowball Cookies
- Chocolate Sesame Cookies
- Perfect Shortbread Cookies
- Thumbprint Cookies with Walnuts and Apricot Jam
- Vegan Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies with Hazelnuts
- Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies
- The BEST Vegan Breakfast Cookies
Enjoy the cookies and please remember to rate them for us!
xoxo
Spicy Chai Molasses Cookies video
Spicy Chai Molasses Cookies
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 15
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 36
- Category: desserts, cookies, sweets, baked goods
- Method: baked
- Cuisine: Indian
Description
Spicy Chai Molasses Cookies are soft and chewy on the inside, crispy on the outside! Seasoned with chai spices, these take old-fashioned Molasses Cookies to another level. These require 1 hour of refrigeration time.
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature (don’t melt, let it come to room temp naturally)
- 2/3 cups granulated (white) sugar
- 2/3 cups packed brown sugar
- 1 extra large egg
- 1/3 cup dark molasses
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 3 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 3 teaspoons baking soda
- 3 teaspoons ground ginger, plus 1 for more spicy
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon cardamom
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
Coarse sugar for rolling
Instructions
- 350 F Oven
- Cream butter and sugars together in a stand mixer or large bowl. Whip until light and fluffy. Add egg, molasses and vanilla, and whip until combined.
- Whisk flour, baking soda, and ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, nutmeg, pepper and salt together in a medium bowl, whisk until well combined. If you can weigh the flour, do so, otherwise, spoon the flour into the measuring cup, then level.
- Gradually add flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix well.
- Refrigerate for 1-2 hours or overnight, so they are easier to roll. Roll into walnut-sized balls, then coat all sides with the turbinato sugar.
- Place on a parchment-lined sheet pan, 3 inches apart. ( Or use a silpat!)
- Bake, *check at 8-9 minutes. If they haven’t started spreading and cracking, wack the tray firmly on the oven rack to start the spread. Continue baking 3-4 more minutes until the edges are crispy and visible crackling appears. Let stand 5 minutes, then cool on a wire rack. They will crack more as they cool. Soft and chewy with crispy edges, to me, the perfect cookie!
Notes
Flour: 3 cups = 370 grams
Use naturally softened butter- don’t melt. Weigh the flour if you can. Dough will freeze for future baking.
Gluten Free: Sub Bob’s Red Mill GF Four Blend, one for one.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 122
- Sugar: 9.1 g
- Sodium: 123.7 mg
- Fat: 5.4 g
- Saturated Fat: 3.3 g
- Carbohydrates: 17.2 g
- Fiber: 0.4 g
- Protein: 1.3 g
- Cholesterol: 18.7 mg
Divine! They remind me of cookies my Dutch grandmother used to make, although at the holidays she would sneak chocolate chips into them. I may try that with the next batch as these did not last long!
Thanks Jessica- and I like the idea of chocolate chips in them too!
These cookies are awesome! Excellent recipe. Got stellar reviews for bringing them into work and several people asked for the recipe. I don’t know how you do it but everything I make off of here is awesome. Thanks so much for sharing such great recipes. Mine didn’t really crackle for some reason but all in all 5 stars!
thanks so much Eric!
Can’t wait to make these ! I do have a question though, can I substitute regular sugar to roll them in instead of coarse sugar or omit that step altogether? Will they come out the same ? Thanks !
Yes, you can sub regular sugar, or even leave it off.;)
I have chai spice I bought at my local Penzy’s. How much would I use of it to substitute for all your spices?
I don’t know Jackie, as all chai blends are so different. You may just have to experiment?
They were delicious! Everyone loved them and they won the cookie competition I used them in.
Great to hear Claire!
I can’t wait to make these for the holidays!!
Awesome Brandi!
Oh my goodness. The flavor is so rich, and the texture is absolutely perfect: a little crispy on the outside, gooey goodness on the inside. I’m not even done baking the second batch yet; had to give this recipe a rating immediately. Thank you for sharing!
thanks Danielle!
The perfect sidekick for a cold glass of milk! Loved the spicy kick in these treats. I customized a bit by halving both the butter and sugars and they turned out fantastic. -They don’t flatten out with that alteration but the cracks still form to make attractive, sharable sweets with a little less guilt. 🙂 Thank you for another flavor-filled recipe!
Love it Kerry!
The flavor was really nice on these, but for some reason mine did not rise or crisp up AT ALL. Not sure what I did wrong, but they are sad, flat, and floppy 🙁
Oh dear Nicole! I’m so sorry about that, disappointing! Sounds like a possible baking soda issue or perhaps not enough flour? Is it possible the baking soda was mismeasured or forgotten?
Mine turned out the same way unfortunately… thin and chewy … good taste by the rise looks nothing like your picture. I weighed the flour and measured 3t of baking soda. Which made me think it was so strange that this happened
Oh shoot. Sorry about that Sarah. I’m not sure what could have happened here? They might be good for ice cream sandwiches? 🙂
The cookies were delicious! The ginger and the molasses flavors came through wonderfully and the texture was great; soft, and chewy. I think I wanted a bit more of the chai spices to come through, though. Next time I make them, I’ll add more cardamom and cinnamon, and see how it turns out.
Yes you can easily up the spices!
Should I use Blackstrap Molasses or Original Molasses?
Regular, original. 🙂
These are amazing, perhaps the best cookies I have ever baked! Everyone I have made them for agrees. We are an Indian household so we always have these spices on hand 🙂 Thanks so much for sharing your recipe!
Awwwww, awesome!
So delicious! My whole family loved these!
Hi this recipe looks amazing and I can’t wait to try it! But it’s right around holiday time so I can’t seem to find molasses anywhere :/
Can I use maple syrup or honey instead? Thanks!
They won’t be quite the same.
Very tasty however I was expecting a stronger Chai flavour.Did I do something wrong?
You can always add more spices. Also their flavor mellows with age. Not sure how old your spices are?
So delicious! I crave a good ginger cookie every now and then, these satisfy perfectly with added spiciness! I have shared these with friends and family, and all of them have requested the recipe 😁 (I have already copied onto a good fashioned recipe card to make sure they don’t get lost!)
Superb cookies! Very nice balance of spices and adored by everyone in the house!
I want to make these for Christmas. do you think using Christmas shaped cookie cutters would work with these? or would they spread too much and just be chubby shapes?
I think they might spread too much. You can always try- definatly use a simple shape.
These are fantastic! I bet you can’t eat just one! I make them every Christmas and people rave about them. I use real ginger instead of ground.
thanks Gretchen! Love that you used real ginger!
I’ve made these around the holidays for a few years now, and after my first batch of the season this weekend my husband said,” I forgot about these! They’re BANGERS!” Nuff said. Truly the perfect holiday cookie.
I love making these cookies. I have made them at least five times in the last couple months. I’ve shared them with friends and everyone who tries them also loves them and asks for the recipe. The best cookie I’ve ever had!
Great to hear!
These were delicious! The only substitute I made was a flax seed egg for a regular egg due to an allergy in our house. They turned out beautifully.
I’m thinking of freezing half the batch. Do you think it would be better to freeze the balls pre-baked? Or just freeze the baked cookies?
First tray just came out of the oven and they look great!
I’d freeze the dough!
Hi Sylvia,
I’m writing from Bowen Island B.C. I always looks forward to your emails on Saturday mornings.
I made these Spicy Chai Molasses cookies last night and they are the best cookies I have ever made, in my opinion. I baked them for exactly nine minutes and the 2 left over are still soft this morning, which is fantastic. I have plenty left over in the frig to make another batch this morning to give away. These will be on my Christmas cookies list for sure! Thanks for this recipe, it’s a keeper.
Thanks Heather- glad you liked them!
Looking forward to making these. Do you suggest light brown or dark brown sugar?
I like dark! But either will work. 😉
Loved the delicious smell. The taste was amazing!My cookies didn’t flatten. Not sure what I did wrong. Any thoughts?
Is it possible you used baking powder instead of soda? Or bread flour instead of AP flour? Just guesses! 😉