Pecan Molasses Cookies

These plump, soft cookies are made with lots of familiar spices associated with fall baking. Pecan Molasses Cookies are very easy to prepare; simply make the cookie dough and use a cookie scoop to portion out mounds onto your baking sheet. Let your oven do the rest! These are one of my all-time favourite cookies!

It never fails that in our home as soon as September rolls around there are two things that we start to crave for. One of those things is soup. In fact, if I prepared a big pot of soup every week, John.e would never once complain. He loves a bowl of hot soup – even in the middle of summer! The other thing is baked goods, such as these Pecan Molasses Cookies, that taste like fall and Christmas all rolled into one.

This is my version of an updated old-fashioned molasses cookie.  Where I grew up, molasses was a staple.  In fact, when I was a kid, molasses was as common as almost any other ingredient.  My mom would bake cookies, cakes, and bread with it. We used it as a spread on sliced bread. (I loved to mix molasses with peanut butter!) It was used in baked beans and glazed ham; and even as a topping for fried bread dough.

DON’T TRY THIS AT HOME!

Did you know that molasses can be medicinal? A teaspoon of molasses, which has been slightly warmed by hovering the spoon over your stove’s burner, and carefully allowing the warm, sticky syrup to pour into your ear, and then gently stuffed with cotton, will relieve an earache.  I’m sure there are many fellow Newfoundlanders who know just what I’m talking about! It was an instant relief for an earache.

I used to suffer greatly from earaches as a kid. I remember hearing my mom say that if the wind changed direction and I happened to be looking that way, I was bound to have an earache. It seemed like I would get one at least once a week. And, yes, I remember many times the instant pain relief that came from warmed molasses in my ear. Just like I remember a ceramic plate being heated on the stove, wrapped in a towel, and placed on my jaw for a toothache!

Thinking back on it now, some of these types of practices are so dated and might seem medieval to some people. But, those of us who did not live close to a hospital knew all too well that home remedies were the fix. I was telling one of these stories to the ladies I used to work with a few years back. They all grew up in Toronto, so they had access to 24-hour medical care. Lesli, in all seriousness, looked at me and said, “Are you sure you’re not Olive Twist?” Those were some good times!

BACK TO THE COOKIE RECIPE!

Molasses is always present in my pantry.  I don’t get to use it as much as my mom did, even though I often make traditional Newfoundland recipes. However, it’s been many, many years since I’ve spread it on bread! It was delicious when I was younger, but my tastes have changed over the years.

In this Pecan Molasses Cookie recipe, molasses is combined with other strong-smelling and tasting ingredients such as cinnamon, ginger, and cloves to make a comforting, home-style, old-fashioned cookie.  So, bake these up, make a cup of tea, and snuggle up on your couch with a good book.  The cookies will make the reading so much more enjoyable – I swear!

MOLASSES 101

There are basically three types of molasses – light, dark, and blackstrap. If you boil cane sugar once, you will get light molasses. If you boil it twice, you’ll get dark molasses. So, boiling it three times must mean that you’ll get blackstrap molasses. Remember, the darker the molasses (blackstrap) the less sweet and more bitter it is.

Never use blackstrap molasses in a recipe unless instructed to do so by the author of the recipe. You can use light or dark without changing the taste drastically. There are also sulphured and unsulphured molasses. The difference between the two is that the sulphured molasses has been chemically treated with preservatives. Nearly 100% of the time, I use unsulphured light molasses.

INGREDIENTS NEEDED TO PREPARE THIS RECIPE

The following is a list of the ingredients needed to prepare this recipe. For exact amounts and measurements, refer to the printable recipe card located near the bottom of this post.

• Butter – Make sure your butter is at room temperature! To be perfectly honest, I have made these with both salted and unsalted butter and there’s no difference in taste or appearance once all is said and done. Use what you have on hand.
• Brown Sugar – First of all, it has way more flavour than regular white sugar! And, in this recipe, brown sugar helps to keep the cookie moist and soft.
• Molasses – When baking, the best molasses is fancy molasses.  Stay away from dark or blackstrap molasses unless instructed otherwise.  Fancy molasses is a light molasses. 
• Egg – Whenever you set out to bake, make sure your egg is at room temperature too – just like your butter!
• Flour – No need for anything special. Just use regular all-purpose flour. I have not tried this recipe with any other type of flour.
• Baking Soda and Baking Powder
• Spices – You will need cinnamon, ginger, and cloves – all ground!
• Salt
• Milk – When a baking recipe requires milk, I always use whole milk, unless otherwise stated. 
• Pecans – I love the slight crunch of the chopped pecans in this cookie. You could use other nuts like peanuts or cashews here too.

HOW TO MAKE PECAN MOLASSES COOKIES

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with a silicone pad or parchment paper and set that aside. Next, in a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter, brown sugar, and molasses until well blended. Add the egg and mix well on low speed.

Next, add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, salt, and milk. Once again, on low speed, beat those ingredients into the butter and molasses mixture. Don’t over-mix – just until the white of the flour disappears. Finally, use a spatula to fold in the chopped pecans.

Using a small cookie scoop, portion the cookie dough and position the mounds onto the prepared baking sheet, leaving at least a 2-inch space between each cookie. Bake the cookies for 15 minutes. Once you remove the cookies from the oven, allow them to cool for two minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack to continue cooling.

STORING, PACKAGING, & FREEZING

When it comes to most cookies, they taste best at room temperature, but they don’t hold up well to being left out on your countertop for long periods of time. Cookies will stay fresh in a cookie jar or food-safe container with a lid for 3-5 days if left to sit on your kitchen countertop. You can store them in a food-safe container in your fridge. When you want one, two, or half a dozen, take them out of the container and place them in a single layer on a plate. Let them sit at room temperature for 5 minutes and they’re ready!

If you plan to freeze your Pecan Molasses Cookies, you certainly can! Once completely cooled, pile them into a clean, food-safe container. The container must be freezer-friendly! You’ll want to ensure a very tight-fitting lid too. I use these quite often when freezing baked goods. I like to place a sheet of plastic wrap over the top of the container before pushing the lid on. This helps to create a better seal. The goal is to keep all of that freshness locked in!  You can freeze these cookies for up to three months.