Bready or Not: Chewy Molasses Cookies
These Chewy Molasses Cookies are perfect holiday cookies. They are loaded with warm spices, with just the right hit of sugary icing.
These are not massive cookies. They are dangerously bite size, the cookie chewy with the icing forming a pleasant sweet crunch.
Note that the dough needs to be made ahead of time so that it can chill for at least an hour, but up to a few days is fine. You can also freeze the dough, if desired.
Modified from Centennial Kitchen Fall Baking 2021.
Bready or Not: Chewy Molasses Cookies
Equipment
- small cookie scoop or spoon
- parchment paper
- spoon
Ingredients
Cookies
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks) softened
- 1 cup brown sugar packed
- 1/3 cup molasses
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Icing
- 1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon clear vanilla extract
- 3 Tablespoons half & half or milk
Instructions
- In a large bowl, beat together the butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Add the molasses and egg.
- Gradually mix in the flour, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. Make sure everything is combined. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for anywhere from an hour to a few days.
- Preheat oven at 325 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Use a small cookie scoop or spoon to dole out dough onto pan. Flatten each ball slightly; they won’t spread much.
- Bake for 10-11 minutes, until set with a crackling top. Let cool a couple of minutes, then transfer to a rack to completely cool.
- Once the cookies are cool, combined the icing ingredients. Glaze should be thick but spreadable. Coat the back of a spoon and transfer that to the top of a cookie, spreading to evenly coat. Cover cookies until icing is used up; the amounts should be a close match. Let them set for an hour for the icing to solidify, then pack into a sealed container.
OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not Original: Big Batch Sugar Cookies and Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies
This recipe for a Big Batch Sugar Cookies and Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies makes it easy to get two kinds of cookies in one batch. It makes about 90 total cookies!
One thing to keep in mind: there is such a huge quantity of dough, stirring it can be tricky. Use your biggest bowl. I did a lot of the mixing in my KitchenAid, then had to finish stirring my hand.
The foundation of this recipe is a classic sugar cookie. Soft, sweet, and crumbly. That base is fantastic with additional chocolate. Do note that mini chips are a must here, because the dough is so crumbly.
Bready or Not Original: Big Batch Sugar Cookies and Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies
Equipment
- cookie scoop or spoon
- food scale
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks) softened
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1 cup mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- In a large bowl, beat together the butter, oil, and sugars. Add the eggs and vanilla. In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and cream of tartar. Gradually beat the dry ingredients into the wet. This will be a lot of dough; if an electric mixer was being used, it may be necessary to switch to stirring by hand.
- Use a food scale to divide the dough in half. Place one half back in the bowl. Remove a small handful, transferring that to the other portion. Add the mini chocolate chips to the bowl and stir to combine.
- Wrap each portion of dough in plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours, or up to 3 days. Freeze if it needs to be baked beyond that time frame.
- Preheat oven at 375 degrees. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Use a cookie scoop or spoon to portion out the dough. The chocolate chip kind will need to be compressed slightly to make it cohesive.
- Bake for 9 to 11 minutes, until cookies are set and tinted golden. Set on a rack to cool, and then place in sealed containers at room temperature.
OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not Original: Cranberry Swirled Blondies
My original recipe for Cranberry Swirled Blondies is the perfect way to use up leftover cranberry sauce from the holidays. Try out this recipe with a homemade sauce (like my recipe featured just last week) or a canned version.
If you use a jellied version in a can, you should mush it first so that it’s easy to spread. Also note that the varying moisture content of difference sauces could make for a shorter or longer baking time.
For this recipe, 10 ounces of sauce is the minimum because you need enough to spread into an even layer. I’d say you can go up to as much as 15 ounces.
These bars are the perfect breakfast or snack bar in the holiday season. Heck, use them for a cookie tray! They keep fantastically frozen, too.
Bready or Not Original: Cranberry Swirled Blondies
Equipment
- 13×9 pan
- aluminum foil
- uneven spatula
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks) softened
- 1 1/4 cups white sugar
- 1 1/4 cups brown sugar packed
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 10 ounces cranberry sauce this is the minimum, use up to 15 ounces
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Line 13×9 pan with wide aluminum foil and apply nonstick spray or butter.
- In a small bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, beat together the butter, both sugars, and vanilla to create a smooth batter. Beat in eggs, one at a time, followed by the flour mixture. Place about 2/3 of the batter in the pan and carefully spread into a base later using an uneven spatula. Spread cranberry sauce on top. Dollop remaining dough on top. Use a knife to swirl layers together.
- Bake until evenly golden brown and set in the middle, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely at room temperature or chill before cutting. Use foil to lift contents onto a cutting board for easy slicing.
- Blondies keep for up to 3 days in a room temperature sealed container and can also be frozen.
OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not Original: Nutella-Swirled Blondies
These Nutella-Swirled Blondies are quick to make and delicious, making it a fantastic go-to recipe when you need to make a moderately-sized batch of goodies without a lot of fuss.
The amount of Nutella called for here is 12 ounces. You can use more than that, if you want, but don’t use less or it’ll be challenging to spread the layer to the edges.
Look for this base recipe used again in the coming months, too. I first experimented with this format using a fresh cranberry filling, but I won’t share that version until the timing is more seasonal. A Nutella filling has no such restrictions.
Bready or Not Original: Nutella-Swirled Blondies
Equipment
- 13×9 pan
- aluminum foil
- nonstick spray
- uneven spatula
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks) softened
- 1 1/4 cups white sugar
- 1 1/4 cups brown sugar packed
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 12 ounces Nutella or similar hazelnut spread
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Line 13×9 pan with wide aluminum foil and apply nonstick spray or butter.
- In a small bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, beat together the butter, both sugars, and vanilla to create a smooth batter. Beat in eggs, one at a time, followed by the flour mixture. Dollop about 2/3 of the dough in the pan; dough will be sticky, making it tricky to even out without smearing away the nonstick coating.
- Spread Nutella on top and to the edges. Add dollops of remaining dough. Use a knife to swirl layers together.
- Bake until evenly golden brown and set in the middle, 28 to 32 minutes. Cool completely at room temperature or chill before cutting. Blondies keep for up to 3 days in a room temperature sealed container.
OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not Original: Sparkling Chocolate Cookies
These Sparkling Chocolate Cookies are loaded with flavor and sweetness, and they are outright pretty. Look!
The chocolate flavor here is from cocoa in the dough along with a whole bag of chocolate chunks. I like Aldi’s dark chocolate chunks, but use whatever you can find.
It’s important to note that these cookies don’t keep well. They will go hard after a day. Therefore, bake them up and serve them promptly.
Bready or Not Original: Sparkling Chocolate Cookies
Equipment
- parchment paper
- cookie scoop
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder sifted
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick) room temperature
- 1 cup brown sugar packed
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 bag chopped dark chocolate
- 1/2 cup turbinado sugar for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 325 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a small bowl, sift together flour, cocoa, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda.
- In a mixing bowl, beat the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla. Gradually add the dry ingredients until just incorporated. Fold in the chocolate. Measure the turbinado sugar into a another small bowl.
- Use a cookie scoop or spoon to shape dough. Roll each round in turbinado sugar. Place spaced out on cookie sheet.
- Bake for 9 to 11 minutes, until set. Let rest on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transitioning to a cooling rack.
- Store in a sealed container. Cookies are best eaten within a day.
OM NOM NOM!
Bready or Not Original: Chewy Granola Cookies
Granola is a healthy and versatile ingredient. Perhaps put it to some less-healthy but very delicious use in this Chewy Granola Cookies recipe!
There are so many granola varieties out there. Many come in large bags. This recipe provides a good base to use up some of that granola.
The crunch of the final bake will vary depending on your add-ins. I used cranberries for my version here, but obviously, mix that out with raisins, dried blueberries, chocolate chips, or other things that will work with whatever’s in the granola.
Bready or Not Original: Chewy Granola Cookies
Equipment
- plastic wrap
- parchment paper
- small cookie scoop
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks) room temperature
- 1 cup brown sugar packed
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups granola
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries or other dried fruit or add-in
Instructions
- Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Gradually mix in the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Fold in the granola and cranberries. Cover dough with plastic wrap and chill in fridge for a few hours or overnight.
- Preheat oven at 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Use a small cookie scoop or teaspoon to dole out dough, spaced out, on cookie sheet. Flatten each ball slightly; it will not spread a lot. Bake for 10 to 11 minutes, until the edges are golden. Cool cookies on the pan for a few minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.
- Store in a sealed container at room temperature.
