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
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.
Jen | Baked by an Introvert
I'm so excited to see holiday cookies popping up! These oatmeal cookies spiked with ginger sounds right up my alley!
Blair
I know, Jen -- this is such a fun time of year! Especially for bakers like YOU! 🙂
Gayle @ Pumpkin 'N Spice
I can almost taste these cookies, Blair! They sound amazing! I love the ginger and oatmeal combo. What a perfect cookie to ring in the holiday season with! Pinned!
Blair
Thanks, Gayle! They really are so perfect for the season!
Anne Maus
While l loved the taste they were way too sweet and I have a sweet tooth !
Kerry Burris
I can't wait too bake these cookies, and I have been looking for a good peanutbutter cookie recipe.
Blair
Enjoy, Kerry! I hope that you love them! 🙂
Michelle
I was wondering about the ginger, were you talking about ground ginger or fresh?
Blair
Hi, Michelle! Sorry for the confusion! Just ground ginger -- no need to use the fresh stuff. 🙂
Robyn @ Simply Fresh Dinners
Oh, I'm all about texture with my food and love a good chewy cookie. Oatmeal is the best and even though I don't eat desserts much, these would end up on my plate every time. I'm finally going to do some Christmas baking this year and I'll be making these. I'll be sure to send you some pics when I do but they'll be with my phone so don't expect much, lol.
Absolutely love these photos, Blair 🙂
Blair
That's awesome, Robyn! Definitely send me some photos if you have a chance to make the cookies. I know you'll love them! 🙂
Nancy McIntosh
Blair, these cookies look delicious! Would you please tell me what kind of molasses you use? Thank you.
Blair
Hi, Nancy! I use the brand of molasses that I can find at my small country grocery store (nothing special!). It's called "Grandma's Molasses" and here is a link to their website: https://www.grandmasmolasses.com/
Enjoy!!
Terry
Hi Diane, I am in the mood to try Your Ginger Oatmeal Cookies, looking at all the recipes your's won out! They r in the oven now, almost ready. Your recipe was so easy a quick now I can enjoy my afternoon tea. I added more of the spices. They are heavenly!
Blair
Oh, I bet they smell amazing in the oven! Thanks for letting me know, Terry...and enjoy!
Suzie
Good afternoon, Blair?
I have a bottle of SPICE WORLD squeeze ginger (1t = 1 serving, 5g) I REALLY want to try it in your ginger oatmeal cookies. How much would I use to equal the 3/4 t. dried ginger?
Blair
Hi, Suzie! Isn't that squeeze ginger so great?! I love it as a shortcut! I've never used it in baking, but if I were to guess, I would suggest trying about 1 1/2 teaspoons of the squeeze ginger. As a general rule of thumb, you can double the amount of fresh herbs since dried herbs and spices are more concentrated. Hope that helps!
Dean
Made these cookies this afternoon - or something like them, anyway. A friend had borrowed my molasses, but I had a jar of honey I'd gotten at a farmer's market a while back. I wasn't sure about the right way to do the substitution, so I just put in a generous spoon of honey. I used 3/4 c brown sugar and 1/4 c white as well, because my usual cookbook calls for it.
The first batch I made were waaaay too gooey and broke up when I tried to take them off the cookie sheet. I stuck the rest of the batter in the freezer for 10 minutes, and the second batch spread less and firmed up better, but was still gooey enough that it broke up.
After that, I added 1/4 c more flour and a 1/2 tsp baking powder, and it worked! they puffed up a bit instead of spreading, but still came out chewy and so good.
I used fresh ginger as well (finding the ginger left over from last week's curry was what led me to this recipe) and it worked just fine. The clove and the ginger blend really wonderfully.
So, I guess the lesson here is that I should follow the recipe more closely next time. But still, chilling the dough and adding a bit more flour/baking powder worked really well to get a good consistency. Thanks for sharing this!
Blair
So glad that you figured it out, Dean! These are still some of our family's favorite go-to cookies. Thanks for sharing with us! 🙂
Phoebe
Sooo good what a great texture.
Have to admit though- 3/4 of a teaspoon of ginger I could barely taste. So I made it 4 tablespoons- plus I finely grated a ginger root into it! Made it extra spicey and tastey. For those who really love a kick of ginger out there I recommend upping the dosage and even adding the fresh ginger- they are still chewy just more spicy.
Thank you,
Blair
Thanks for that feedback, Phoebe! You're right -- it's a mild ginger taste, so feel free to load them up with more spice if you prefer more kick! 🙂
Kathryn
Hi Blair!
Any chance of substitution of applesauce for the sugar? Thanks!
Blair
Hi, Kathryn! I honestly have no idea. I've never tested the recipe with applesauce, so I'm not sure how it would turn out. The texture would definitely be different, and they would definitely not be as sweet, but I'm not sure if the dough would "work" or if it would spread or be too thin?
Robert
I would like to try these with pancake syrup (maple) instead of molasses and a cup of raisins. What do you think? My granddaughter is calling for grandpa cookies Canadian style.
Blair
That's cute, Robert! Nothing better than baking for the little ones!
Using raisins will be a great addition.
As far as the maple syrup goes, I'm not sure what the final product will be like. Maple syrup obviously has a different flavor than molasses, so that will change the taste of the cookies a bit (but they would still be delicious). The maple syrup is much thinner than molasses, though, so I'm more concerned about the texture of the dough. I just haven't tried the maple syrup to know if they will set up properly or not.
Barbara
These cookies are my family's new favourites. With winter hanging on up here in Canada, they are a welcome treat. ThamKs so much for sharing!
Here's a Five Star rating from us!
Blair
That's wonderful, Barbara! They are definitely one of my all-time favorites as well. I'm so glad to be able to share them with you! 🙂
Jim Mooney
Sounds really good! Does the combo of sugar and molasses serve as the equivalent of dark brown sugar? Also, I am an amateur experimenter. I have a large jar of candied ginger in the pantry. That stuff is great to munch on, and I thought: what a delight it might be to bite into small chunks of this in a cookie! Ever used the stuff? How much of the sugar do you think I should cut back if I used say a cup of the candied ginger?
Blair
Hi, Jim! The molasses has a very distinct flavor, which I don't think you can replicate with dark brown sugar. It's what gives gingerbread its classic flavor, and I think it's a must in these cookies. 🙂 As far as the candied ginger goes, I think it would be a nice add-in (kind of like stirring nuts into a cookie dough), but I wouldn't use it as a sugar substitute or the texture of the cookies will change. Hope that helps, and enjoy!
Jim Mooney
Thanx for quick response! I tried the experiment, adding 2/3 cup of candied ginger when I folded in the oats (I also added some Craisins and some coursely-chopped pecans). I was on target: the ginger kind of floats through a mouthful of cookie, producing spurts of ginger flavor as I chew. Made a bunch for Christmas presents, so will see how others react.
Blair
Wonderful!!! They sound amazing, Jim! I'll have to see if I can find some candied ginger near me to add to my next batch! 🙂
Deborah
I just made these using Bob's Red Mill Gluten-free flour blend. They turned out really well! They're chewy and delicious. I tripled the spices as we love a good kick of spice.
Thank you for sharing this yummy recipe! 🙂
Ni
Hi! Can I use oat flour instead of all purpose flour?
Blair
Hi, Ni! Oat flour is definitely not an equal substitute for all purpose flour, so it will completely change the texture of the cookies. For instance, the oat flour doesn't contain gluten, so it might make the cookies fall apart or heavy. Here's a good article on baking with oat flour, which might help: https://www.livestrong.com/article/557742-baking-with-oat-flour-vs-wheat-flour/
Tami
Love these cookies as well as everyone that I have given them to. I add between 1/2 and 1cup non-crystalized candied ginger cut up into 1/4 inch pieces to add more chew, texture, and a bit more ginger flavor. Hint while cutting up the sticky candied ginger I put in a bowl with a small amount of powdered sugar to coat helps to get individual pieces. As one friend said, "it's a party in her mouth". I also bake on parchment paper no sticking whatsoever. Thanks for the recipe!
Blair
The added candied ginger sounds amazing! Thanks for the tip, Tami! 🙂
Barbara
I have been making this recipe for just over a year now, and it is by far one of our family's favourites! Thank you so much for sharing!
Blair
Thanks, Barbara! I'm so happy to hear that you enjoy them as much as we do! You've reminded me that I need to make another batch soon. 🙂
Ashley
Absolutely delicious! I made no changes to the recipe, and my kiddos and husband gobbled them up! The cloves really makes this a standout cookie!
Blair
Yay!!! So glad that you all enjoyed them, Ashley! I totally agree -- the cloves and warm spices just make them SO delish! Thanks for taking the time to leave a note!
Jill O. S.
These became an instant favorite in my house! Perfectly spiced, chewy with just a hint of crispness. And if you are wondering, yes you can throw in a half cup of raisins if you love them like we do! I do cook them a little longer then, making sure they are golden brown and delicious before taking them out of the oven. Perfect.
Blair
That's awesome, Jill! I bet the raisins are a delicious addition. Thanks so much for your note!
Viv
My grandchildren were coming for a visit after quite a few months. It's been tough during COVID not being able to see them very often. I was looking for a new recipe to make cookies for them. I read majority of the comments, and even there was one that said they were too sweet I decided to make them anyway. I don't have a sweet tooth but children do. I tasted one and just had to finish it. Not sweet at all. I had to walk away so that I didn't trust myself to have more. Thank you for posting this, I will make them again & again.
Blair Lonergan
That's great to hear, Viv. Thank you! I hope that you enjoyed the time with your grandchildren!