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These soft and chewy Spice Cookies are packed with warm cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves, with a hint of molasses for deep, cozy flavor. They are rolled in cinnamon sugar for a sparkly, crackly finish and bake up thick and chewy every time. If you love a chewy cookie like our cookies and cream cookies and soft lofthouse cookies, these will be a fall favorite.
Warmly spiced, chewy in the middle, and rolled in cinnamon sugar, these spice cookies are the coziest cookie you can bake all season, right up there with our almond cookies.
Spice Cookies Quick Look
- 🕒 Prep Time: 15 minutes
- 🌡️ Cook Time: 13 minutes
- ⏳ Total Time: 28 minutes
- 🍽️ Serving: 16 cookies
- ⚡ Calories: About 240 per cookie
- 🌶️ Flavor Profile: Warm, spiced, sweet, and molasses-rich
- ✋ Difficulty: Easy
Quick Answer
Spice cookies stay soft and chewy thanks to a few tricks: brown sugar and molasses add moisture, a touch of cornstarch keeps them tender, and an extra egg yolk adds richness. Pulling them when the edges are just set, then banging the pan, gives that perfect chewy center, the same way we get our cream cheese cookies soft.
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Why This Recipe Works
Click to see the technique science
- A blend of warm spices. Cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice give these cookies deep, cozy flavor in every bite.
- Molasses and brown sugar. Both add moisture and a rich, caramel-like depth that keeps the cookies soft and chewy.
- Cornstarch and an extra yolk. These small additions make the cookies extra tender and chewy rather than crisp.
- The pan-bang trick. Banging the pan partway through baking flattens the cookies into perfectly chewy, crackly rounds.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Packed with warm, cozy fall and holiday spices.
- Soft and chewy in the center with crackly cinnamon-sugar tops.
- Made with simple pantry ingredients.
- Perfect for cookie trays alongside chocolate sugar cookies and raspberry thumbprint cookies.
- A molasses-rich cookie that is not too sweet, like our maple bacon cookies.
- Cozy, warmly spiced, and chewy, right next to our cookies and cream cookies.
Key Ingredients
Here is everything you need to make these spice cookies. The exact amounts are in the recipe card below.
- All-purpose flour and cornstarch: give the cookies structure while keeping them tender.
- Warm spices: cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice create that signature cozy flavor.
- Salted butter: the rich base for soft, chewy cookies.
- Brown and granulated sugar: sweeten the cookies and add moisture and chew.
- Molasses: deepens the flavor and keeps the cookies soft.
- Egg plus an extra yolk: add richness and a chewy texture.
- Vanilla: rounds out the warm, spiced flavor.
- Cinnamon sugar: for rolling, giving the cookies a sparkly, crackly finish.
See recipe card for exact quantities.
Variations and Substitutions
These spice cookies are easy to make your own.
- Add a glaze: drizzle with a simple powdered-sugar icing, like our lofthouse cookies.
- Make them gingery: add extra ground ginger or some finely chopped crystallized ginger.
- Add mix-ins: fold in white chocolate chips, like our white chocolate raspberry cookies.
- Make them smaller: portion into smaller balls and reduce the bake time for bite-sized cookies.
- Turn them into sandwiches: add a cream cheese filling, like our red velvet sandwich cookies.
How to Make Spice Cookies
- Whisk together the flour, cornstarch, and all of the warm spices, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- Cream the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until light and fluffy.
- Mix in the egg, egg yolk, molasses, and vanilla.
- Add the flour mixture and mix on low until just combined into a dough.
- Portion the dough, roll into balls, and coat each one in cinnamon sugar.
- Bake at 350 degrees F, banging the pan halfway through, until the edges are just set.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Do not overbake. Pull the cookies when the edges are just set so the centers stay soft and chewy.
- Bang the pan. Tapping the pan partway through baking gives the cookies their signature crackly, flat tops.
- Room-temperature butter. Soft butter creams properly for the right texture.
- Space them out. Leave room between dough balls so the cookies can spread evenly.
- Coat generously. Roll the dough balls well in cinnamon sugar, the same finish as our snickerdoodle cake.
Serving Ideas and Suggestions
These spice cookies are made for cozy moments and holiday gatherings.
Serve them with a hot cup of coffee, tea, or cider, and add them to a cookie box with chocolate dipped shortbread, golden Oreo cookies, and meringue cookies.
For more cozy fall and holiday treats, try our snickerdoodle cake, mini cinnamon rolls, lemon blueberry coffee cake, or smores whoopie pies.
Spice Cookies FAQs
Yes. You can refrigerate the dough for up to 2 days, then roll and bake when ready. Let it sit at room temperature for a few minutes so it is easier to scoop, and roll in the cinnamon sugar just before baking.
Banging the pan partway through baking deflates the puffed cookies, giving them a flatter shape with crackly tops and a chewy center. It is the secret to that bakery-style spice cookie look.
Absolutely. Freeze the baked cookies in an airtight container for up to 3 months, or freeze the rolled dough balls and bake from frozen, just like our chocolate sugar cookies.
Spice cookies use a blend of warm spices with just a little molasses for a soft, chewy texture, while gingerbread is usually more heavily spiced and often rolled and cut. These are soft, drop-style cookies.
Store cooled spice cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. Adding a slice of bread to the container helps keep them soft, like our cream cheese cookies.
Yes. A hand mixer works well for creaming the butter and sugars. You can even mix by hand with a sturdy spoon, it will just take a little more effort.
Warm, cozy, and irresistibly chewy, these spice cookies fill the whole kitchen with the smell of the holidays, right alongside our sugar cookie sandwiches.
Our chewy white chocolate cranberry cookies bring the tart sweet contrast to a holiday spread.
For a one pan holiday bake, my gingerbread bars skip the scooping entirely.
Soft and Chewy Spice Cookies
Ingredients
Cookies:
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon allspice
- 1 cup + 3 tablespoons salted butter room temperature
- 1 cup light brown sugar packed
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1/4 cup molasses
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
For rolling:
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly spray with baking spray. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine flour, cornstarch, cinnamon, ginger, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, baking powder, cloves, and allspice and set aside.3 cups all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon cornstarch, 2 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 3/4 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves, 1/4 teaspoon allspice
- Combine butter, brown sugar, and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat together on medium speed for 2 minutes.1 cup + 3 tablespoons salted butter, 1 cup light brown sugar, 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- Add the eggs, molasses, and vanilla to the butter mixture and mix to combine.1 large egg, 1 large egg yolk, 1/4 cup molasses, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed until just incorporated.
- In a small bowl, combine sugar and cinnamon.1 cup granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- Portion the dough into 16 sections.
- Roll each portion into a dough ball and roll it in the sugar/cinnamon until well coated.
- Place 6 dough balls onto the prepared large baking sheet, placing each one 3” apart.
- Place the baking sheet into the preheated oven on the center rack.
- Bake for 8 minutes, then remove the pan from the oven and bang it against the counter to slightly flatten the cookies.
- Place it back into the oven and continue baking for an additional 5 minutes, until the edges are just set.
- Once baked, remove the cookies from the oven and let them sit on the pan for 5 minutes to allow them to set up.
- Once slightly set, transfer them to a wire rack to let cool completely.
- Repeat with the remaining dough balls.
Notes
- Room Temperature Ingredients: Always use room temperature butter and egg for the best results. This helps the ingredients combine smoothly and ensures a better texture in the final cookie.
- Don’t Overmix: Mix the dry ingredients just until combined to avoid tough cookies. Overmixing can develop the gluten in the flour, leading to a less desirable texture.
- Chill the Dough: If your cookie dough is too soft, chill it in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes before baking. This will help the cookies keep their shape during baking.
- Use a Cookie Scoop: For evenly sized cookies, use a cookie scoop to portion out the dough. This makes sure that all cookies bake evenly and have the same chewy texture.
- Bang the Pan: Halfway through baking, bang the baking sheet on the counter to help the cookies spread and create that signature chewy center.
- Use Parchment Paper: Line your baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat to prevent the cookies from sticking and make cleanup easier.
Nutrition
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