These molasses sandwich cookies are what I make when I want something that’s truly special. That deep, rich molasses flavor with warm spices, sandwiched together with vanilla buttercream. They stay soft for days and the filling makes them feel like a real treat.
Every December there are three cookies always on the rotation: sugar cookies for decorating, chocolate dipped shortbread, and these. They’re pretty enough for cookie plates but still simple. The warm spices make them feel festive without screaming “Christmas cookie”…which means you can make them all fall and winter long.
Table of Contents
What You’ll Need
If you’d like to double or triple this recipe, you can make adjustments in the recipe card at the bottom of this post. Both components double well, but you’ll need to bake in batches.
Cookie Dough
- 8 tablespoons (½ cup) unsalted butter, softened
- ½ cup vegetable shortening (keeps cookies soft and tender, don’t substitute all butter or they’ll spread too much)
- ½ cup granulated sugar, plus ½ cup for rolling
- ½ cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
- 3 cups all-purpose flour (360 grams)
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ cup unsulfured molasses (don’t use blackstrap – too bitter)
Buttercream Frosting
- 8 tablespoons (½ cup) unsalted butter, softened
- 3 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3-4 tablespoons heavy cream
How to Make
Getting Started
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and line your baking sheets with parchment paper. I always use parchment for these – they’ll stick otherwise and you’ll lose the bottom of your cookies trying to get them off.
Mix Your Dry Ingredients
In a large bowl, whisk together your flour, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, baking soda, and salt. Make sure you really whisk it well. You want the spices distributed evenly or you’ll get random pockets of clove (not fun).
Set this aside.
Cream the Butter and Sugars
Put your softened butter, shortening, granulated sugar, and brown sugar in your mixer bowl. Beat on medium-high for about 3 minutes until it’s light and fluffy. You’ll know it’s ready when the color gets lighter and it looks almost whipped.
Scrape down the bowl once during this to make sure everything is incorporated.
Add the Egg and Vanilla
Turn your mixer to low and add the egg and vanilla. Mix for about 10-15 seconds on low, then bump it up to medium for another 15 seconds.
You’re not trying to beat air into it, just get it mixed in well.
Add the Molasses
Pour in your molasses with the mixer on low. Low for 10-15 seconds, then medium for another 10-15 seconds.
The dough will look a little weird and separated at first, but it comes together.
Mix in the Dry Ingredients
Add all your flour mixture at once. Mix on low until you can’t see streaks of flour anymore. The dough will be soft – that’s exactly what you want. Don’t overmix here or your cookies will be tough.
Stop as soon as the flour disappears.
Shape and Roll in Sugar
Form your dough into 1½ inch balls, about the size of a walnut. Roll each one in granulated sugar and place them on your baking sheet about 2 inches apart. They spread a little but not too much.
I get 12 per sheet. Just make sure you have an even number!
Bake
Bake for exactly 10 minutes. They’ll look slightly underdone when you pull them out. That’s what you want!. Don’t overbake these or they’ll be crunchy instead of chewy. Leave them on the baking sheet for another 4-5 minutes to finish setting up, then use a thin spatula to transfer them to a cooling rack.
They’re fragile when warm.
Make the Buttercream
Once your cookies are completely cool, make the frosting. Beat the butter by itself for 2-3 minutes until it’s light colored and fluffy. Add your powdered sugar and mix on low at first (unless you want a sugar cloud in your kitchen), then medium-high until combined. It’ll look super thick and clumpy. Add the vanilla and 3 tablespoons of cream, mix on low then medium-high.
If it’s still too thick to spread easily, add that last tablespoon of cream.
Assemble the Sandwiches
Flip half your cookies upside down. Put about 2 tablespoons of frosting on each one – I just eyeball it to divide the frosting evenly between 12 cookies. Top with the remaining cookies, pressing gently so the frosting spreads to the edges.
The frosting will make the cookies even softer after a day, so these are actually better tomorrow than today.
Storage Instructions
Store these in an airtight container. They’ll stay soft for about 4 days. If you need to stack them, put parchment paper between layers so the frosting doesn’t stick.
You can freeze the unfrosted cookies for up to a month – just layer them between parchment in a freezer container. Don’t freeze them after they’re filled though.
How to Mix These on a Tray or Treat Box
If you’re making cookie boxes or plates this year, these pair really well with lighter, brighter flavors and different textures. Here are some of our favorites.
- Classic roll-out sugar cookies with royal icing
- Chocolate crinkle cookies
- Lemon sour cream cookies with holiday sprinkles
- Peppermint bark
- White chocolate cranberry cookies
- Vanilla fudge
- Spritz cookies
- Chocolate truffles
Troubleshooting
Your butter might be too warm or you skipped the shortening.
My cookies turned out hard…what happened?
You overbaked them. Pull them at exactly 10 minutes even though they look underdone. They’ll firm up on the pan.
You don’t HAVE to, but they won’t look right without it. The sugar gives them that classic crackly top.
Printable Recipe
Molasses Sandwich Cookies
Equipment
- 1 stand or hand mixer
- 2 Baking sheets
- 1 cooling rack
Ingredients
Cookie Dough
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
- ½ cup vegetable shortening like Crisco
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar, packed
- 3 cups all-purpose flour 360 grams
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ cup unsulfured molasses I use Grandma's brand
Rolling the Cookies
- ½ cup granulated or sparkling sugar
Buttercream
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
- 3 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3-4 tablespoons heavy cream
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Instructions
- Prep. Preheat oven to 375°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Dry Ingredients Whisk together flour, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Set aside.
- Cream butter, shortening, and sugar. Cream butter, shortening, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, and brown sugar in mixer bowl on medium-high until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
- Add egg and vanilla. Add egg and vanilla, mix on low then medium until combined. Add molasses and mix until incorporated.
- Add dry ingredients. Add dry ingredients and mix on low just until no flour streaks remain. Don't overmix.
- Shape and roll. Form dough into 1 1/2 inch balls, roll in remaining sugar, place 2 inches apart on baking sheets.
- Bake Bake 10 minutes. Let cookies set on baking sheet 4-5 minutes, then transfer to cooling rack.
- Make frosting. Beat butter until light, 2-3 minutes. Add powdered sugar, mix until combined. Add vanilla and 3 tablespoons cream, beat until smooth. Add remaining cream if needed.
- Assemble. Once cookies are cool, spread 2 tablespoons frosting on flat side of 12 cookies. Top with remaining cookies, pressing gently.
Notes
Nutrition
Love,
