From Our Kitchen to Yours: Timeless Hand-Baked Gifts, Molasses Cookies

There’s something beautifully unhurried about gifting molasses cookies at Christmastime—soft, spiced rounds carrying the warmth of ginger, cinnamon, and dark sweetness. They feel like the kind of treat that could only come from a home kitchen, where the scent of baking fills the air long before ribbons and twine appear. In an age of rush and ready-made gifts, a hand-baked cookie becomes a small liturgy of care: a way of saying I made this slowly, thinking of you. Wrapped in parchment and tied with a simple bow, molasses cookies become more than a sweet—they become a gesture of shared comfort, the taste of a cozy season held in the palm of your hand.

A neighbor used to bring these cookies to my family each holiday and I insisted my mom get her hands on the recipe. As an adult, I make these every year and share them with neighbors, co-workers and extended family. I've included the recipe below, along with links to wooden cookie molds if you are looking for a made-by-hand way to show kindness this year with those near and dear.

Old Fashioned Molasses Cookies

Start with the liquid ingredients:

1 cup sugar

1 cup molasses

3/4 cup oil

1/2 cup hot water

Mix liquid ingredients above all together.

Add two eggs and mix.

In a separate bowl gather dry ingredients:

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 big tsp. ginger

1/2 tsp. salt

6 1/2 cups of all purpose flour

Mix dry ingredients thoroughly then fold in liquid ingredients.

Refrigerate the dough for at least an hour, then roll out and cut. I like to use specialty cookie presses similar to these wooden ones. Spray your baking sheet with nonstick spray, then bake at 350 for ten minutes.