These Molasses Honey Ginger Cookies will be a delicious and pretty addition to your holiday cookie platters.
I’ve made multiple variations of molasses and gingerbread cookies over the years. These are reminiscent of the same flavors. You don’t even have to be very talented at frosting cookies to make these. In fact, you can be the cruddiest of cookie decorators and these will still come out pretty.
They’re meant to look rustic with the icing drizzled every which way. A simple addition of sprinkles on top makes them look a little more “decorated” and festive. You can do it!
Even if you’re not into turning the icing into fancy colors (or if you really just do not want to use food coloring at all), just drizzle white icing on top. It still makes for a pretty cookie- any shapes you want!
These cookies freeze well, so if you want to bake them now… just put them in cookie tins or in a sealed plastic zip baggie and store them in the freezer until the holidays. They’ll defrost just fine.
Molasses Honey Ginger Cookies
Ingredients
COOKIES
- 1 cup shortening
- 1 cup granulated white sugar
- ½ cup molasses
- ½ cup honey
- 2 large egg yolks
- 4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons ground cloves
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
ICING
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon melted butter
- 1 tablespoon milk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- liquid food colorings and colored sugars
Instructions
COOKIES
- Cream together the shortening, sugar, molasses and honey in a bowl with an electric mixer. Add the egg yolks and mix well.
- Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and spices; stir into the shortening mixture. Wrap the dough in plastic and chill well until firm (1 to 2 hours).
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to ¼ inch thickness. Cut out shapes with cookie cutters and transfer to lightly greased cookie sheets.
- Bake cookies for 8 to 10 minutes. Let cookies cool on baking sheets until they are firm. Then transfer to a rack to cool completely.
ICING
- Beat powdered sugar, butter, milk and vanilla until smooth, adding more sugar or milk as needed. If desired, divide icing among smaller bowls and tint with different food colorings.
- Decorate cookies with colored icings and sugars.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Here are a few more holiday cookie recipes you might enjoy:
- Dark Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies by Liv For Cake
- Linzer Pinwheel Cookies by Recipe Girl
- Soft-Batch Christmas Sprinkle Cookies by The Salty Marshmallow
- Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies by Recipe Girl
Hi …would love to make these with my niece and nephew. We are taking them to a relatives house with an extremely small kitchen. Is it possible to roll these into a log and cut in slices (all round). Or roll them into balls and cook that way?
If that would work, would be much simpler and less stressful for all of us. Love your website!!! TY!
Great looking cookie and love the look of the frosting. I see the recipe for the frosting but how is it applied? I love the drizzled look of it and it looks easier than applying frosting. Thanks for describing the frosting application, Lori. Happy holidays! Jill
Hi Jill, just put the frosting in a small zip baggie, snip off the corner and drizzle away!
Hey! These look delicious. Are they firm enough to use to make a gingerbread house?
no- they’re not that kind of cookie.
I can’t wait to make these at Christmas w/ my daughter! She loves molasses/ginger cookies, but hates sugar cookies. I’m happy to have found a fun cookie cutter recipe that isn’t a sugar cookie.