These Easy Oatmeal Cookies with Ginger and Molasses are soft, chewy and full of warm spices! Like a cross between an old-fashioned oatmeal cookie and a classic gingerbread cookie, these treats are a childhood favorite and they’re perfect for holiday baking season. Add these Christmas Cookies to your dessert trays, gift baskets, and cookie plates for Santa — everyone loves them!
You guys…THESE are the cookies of my childhood! You know how some nostalgic foods just bring back so many wonderful memories? Easy Oatmeal Cookies are high on my personal list!
One of my best friends growing up (and still today) was Katie. We met in Kindergarten and we stayed close friends through college. While my own mom is an amazing cook (and has taught me 99.9% of the things I know in the kitchen), cookies were never her forte. Instead, I went to Katie’s house for the best homemade cookies a girl could dream of. And while I love all of Mrs. Hodgdon’s baking, these simple oatmeal cookies have always been my absolute favorite.
How to make Easy Oatmeal Cookies from scratch:
Imagine my excitement when I was sifting through some of my mom’s old recipes and I came across a handwritten card with this recipe on it! My mom must have asked Mrs. Hodgdon for the recipe about 30 years ago when she realized that I adored these cookies. And while I can’t say that I remember my mom ever actually making the cookies herself, I am happy to report that I am using the recipe card and baking them for my own family! And of course, my three boys all love them too. 🙂
They are a chewy, buttery, ginger-y cookie that everyone should have a chance to taste.
What you need for an Easy Oatmeal Cookie recipe with few ingredients:
- Butter
- Sugar
- Egg
- Molasses
- All-purpose flour
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Cinnamon, cloves and ginger
- Quaker old-fashioned rolled oats
First, cream together the softened butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add the egg and molasses, mixing until combined. The molasses (along with the spices) gives these cookies that classic gingerbread flavor!
Sift together the dry ingredients, and then slowly add them to the mixer as well.
Finally, stir in the oats.
At this point, you can either chill the dough until you’re ready to bake or you can drop the dough onto prepared trays.
Bake the cookies in a 350 degree F oven for about 8-10 minutes, or until golden brown. The cookies will still look soft, but pull them out of the oven anyway! They will firm up a bit as they cool, and they will stay soft and chewy.
Serve the cookies with a cold glass of milk, with a warm cup of tea, or with a mug of hot cocoa!
Cook’s Tips and Recipe Variations:
- You don’t have to chill the dough before baking; however, you can refrigerate the dough if it’s more convenient. Either way, the cookies will spread quite a bit in the oven, so I recommend spacing them out generously (and only baking about 9 cookies per tray).
- Can oatmeal cookie dough be frozen? Yes! This dough freezes best if you portion it into dough balls before freezing. Arrange the dough balls on baking sheets, freeze, and then wrap tightly in an airtight container or Ziploc bag. When ready to bake, just pull a couple of frozen dough balls from the oven and bake in a 350 degree F oven. You’ll need to add about 1-2 more minutes to the baking time since you’re starting with frozen dough.
- How do you make oatmeal cookies soft and chewy? These simple oatmeal cookies stay incredibly soft and chewy for a couple of reasons. The molasses helps, and so does a short baking time. If you pull them out of the oven when they’re still soft, they will firm up slightly, but stay soft and chewy when cooled. Finally, it’s important that you don’t over-mix the dough once you add the dry ingredients (which can result in tough, dry cookies).
- Why are my oatmeal cookies flat? This particular recipe yields thin, chewy cookies. This is because there is little flour relative to the amount of butter in the dough. It’s a delicious, light texture! However, to avoid excessive spreading, make sure that your oven is the correct temperature, that your dough isn’t too warm, and that your baking sheets are cool.
- What kind of oats do you use for cookies? I recommend using Quaker Old-Fashioned Rolled Oats in this recipe, which gives the cookies a nice texture and chew. Quick oats would probably work as well; however I do not recommend using steel cut oats.
- How long will these Easy Oatmeal Cookies stay fresh? Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. They will stay fresh on the counter for about 3 days. To extend the life of your cookies, wrap them tightly and freeze them for up to 3 months.
- Are oatmeal cookies healthy? Not particularly. While they’re made with whole grains and they have just 102 calories per cookie, these are definitely treats! They include plenty of butter and sugar, and they only have less than 1 gram of fiber per serving. Enjoy the dessert, but don’t consider it a nutritious meal. Hah!
More easy cookie recipes that you might enjoy:
- Old-Fashioned Chewy Molasses Cookies
- Great Grandma’s Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Old Fashioned Williamsburg Gingerbread Cookies
- 3-Ingredient Scottish Shortbread Cookies
- Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Did you make this recipe?
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Easy Oatmeal Cookies with Ginger and Molasses
Ingredients
- ¾ cup salted butter (1 ½ sticks), softened at room temperature
- 1 cup granulated white sugar
- 1 egg
- ¼ cup molasses
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon cloves
- ¾ teaspoon ginger
- 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes).
- Add egg and molasses. Mix until combined.
- In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and ginger. Add dry ingredients to butter mixture and blend until combined.
- Stir in oatmeal.
- Drop dough by rounded tablespoons onto baking sheets that have been lined with parchment paper or silicone mats. The cookies will spread in the oven, so I recommend only placing 9 cookies on each baking sheet.
- Bake for approximately 8-10 minutes, or until golden brown. The cookies will still look soft, which is fine. They will firm up a little bit as they cool, but they will still be soft and chewy!
- Cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then remove to wire racks to cool completely.
Notes
- You don’t have to chill the dough before baking; however, you can refrigerate the dough if it’s more convenient. Either way, the cookies will spread quite a bit in the oven, so I recommend spacing them out generously (and only baking about 9 cookies per tray).
- Can oatmeal cookie dough be frozen? Yes! This dough freezes best if you portion it into dough balls before freezing. Arrange the dough balls on baking sheets, freeze, and then wrap tightly in an airtight container or Ziploc bag. When ready to bake, just pull a couple of frozen dough balls from the oven and bake in a 350 degree F oven. You’ll need to add about 1-2 more minutes to the baking time since you’re starting with frozen dough.
- How do you make oatmeal cookies soft and chewy? These simple oatmeal cookies stay incredibly soft and chewy for a couple of reasons. The molasses helps, and so does a short baking time. If you pull them out of the oven when they’re still soft, they will firm up slightly, but stay soft and chewy when cooled.
- Why are my oatmeal cookies flat? This particular recipe yields thin, chewy cookies. This is because there is little flour relative to the amount of butter in the dough. It’s a delicious, light texture! However, to avoid excessive spreading, make sure that your oven is the correct temperature, that your dough isn’t too warm, and that your baking sheets are cool.
- What kind of oats do you use for cookies? I recommend using Quaker Old-Fashioned Rolled Oats in this recipe. I do not recommend using quick-cooking oats or steel cut oats, as those will yield a different texture in the finished cookie.
- How long will these Easy Oatmeal Cookies stay fresh? Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. They will stay fresh on the counter for about 3 days. To extend the life of your cookies, wrap them tightly and freeze them for up to 3 months.
- Are oatmeal cookies healthy? Not particularly. While they’re made with whole grains and they have just 102 calories per cookie, these are definitely treats! They include plenty of butter and sugar, and they only have less than 1 gram of fiber per serving. Enjoy the dessert, but don’t consider it a nutritious meal. Hah!
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published in November, 2015. The photos were updated in October, 2019.
Just made these. Did not have unsalted butter, so left out the added salt. Added chopped walnuts and raisens ( because they were hanging around my cupboard, and cookies were Delicious!
Oh, great — I’m so glad that they worked well for you, Michelle. Thanks for letting me know!
made the recipe but added some crystallized ginger, they are delicious.
Definitely a repeater
We’re so glad you enjoyed it, Shirley!