These molasses crackle cookies have a slight crunch on the outside, and yet the inside remains soft and gooey.
The molasses in these cookies gives them the perfect combination of bitterness and sweetness, and the overall flavor is rich like no other cookie.
When a cookie is this soft and chewy, you’d think that there was no way it could possibly be healthy, but I’m here to change that.
Each contains just 85 calories and sneaks in 5.5g of protein, but nobody would ever know it. These taste just like !
Even better than the stellar , these are gluten-free and egg free, meaning they’re suitable for pretty much any diet (plus, the is safe to eat raw).
What is molasses?
If you’ve ever made my Protein Oatmeal Creme Pies recipe, the oatmeal cookies look quite similar to these. The major difference here, of course, is the addition of molasses!
What exactly is molasses?
Molasses is a dark syrup that is created during the sugar refinement process. Brown sugar is actually just white sugar mixed with molasses, so the chances are very high that you’ve come across molasses many times before without even realizing it.
Plus, if you’ve ever had gingerbread cookies before, you’ve definitely tasted molasses.
Obviously, molasses are the star of these cookies. While it may seem like that would lead to a super sweet cookie, molasses are actually a combination of sweet & bitter, so it all balances out.
Can you substitute molasses in this recipe? I suppose you can, but that would defeat the purpose of these cookies! If you absolutely must make a substitution, maple syrup would be a decent replacement here.
How to make molasses crackle cookies
While many of my cookie recipes require chilling the cookie dough, these molasses cookies skip that step and come together very quickly.
All you need to do is combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl until they come together to form cookie dough. The base of this recipe is a combination of oat flour and protein powder. Specifically, I use PEScience protein powder, which is a blend of whey & casein protein (and the protein I use in all my recipes).
I haven’t tested this recipe with any other type of protein powder, so I can’t guarantee the same result if you swap it out. If possible, I highly recommend picking up some PEScience, especially if you plan to make any of my other recipes! To help, you can use my code “matt” at checkout to save 10% on any order.
I use oat in this , along with most others on my site, because I love the flavor. I’m not gluten-free, but it’s a nice added bonus as well since so many people out there are. You can use regular in its place if necessary.
Once your is formed, you’ll break it apart into 8 balls, then roll each in some substitute or regular .
The sugar coating is going to help give these molasses crinkle cookies their slightly crunchy exterior.
Once each is coated in and placed on a , these cookies will bake for 8 minutes at 350 degrees F.
When you remove these molasses crackle cookies from the oven, they’re going to seem far too puffy and will not have that crackly effect we’re after.
When your cookies look like this, don’t panic! This is exactly what we want.
All you have to do is lightly press down the tops of the with your fingers to form them into discs. As you press down, it will create that effect we’re after.
Once pressed down, these molasses cookies are still going to be very soft. It’s important to let these cookies cool and fully set for one hour (they can be left right on the ).
Whenever you have to wait to dig into a recipe, especially cookies, it’s torturous. However, it’s absolutely necessary for these cookies. If you were to pick one up and eat it fresh out of the oven, the inside would be way too gooey.
By giving the cookies a chance to fully set, you’re allowing them to firm up completely inside, which leads to a solid molasses cookie that is still soft and chewy on the inside.
You can dig into these chewy molasses crinkle cookies right away, or they can be stored in an airtight container for about one week while still tasting completely fresh.
More cookie recipes you’re sure to love
Since you’re interested in this , it’s clear that you have great taste.
Here are some other recipes on my blog that are similar to this one, which you’re sure to love!
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a large bowl, mix together all of the dry ingredients.
- Add the molasses and butter to the bowl with your dry ingredients, then mix with a silicone spatula until it comes together to form cookie dough.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Break off pieces of the cookie dough (it will be a little sticky but still easy to work with) and roll them into 8 cookie dough balls. Space them out on your baking sheet.
- Add sugar substitute to a small bowl and toss your cookie dough balls in it to coat.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for 8 minutes.
- When you remove the cookies from the oven, they will seem very puffy, but that’s to be expected. Use your fingers to press down the cookies into flat discs and create that crackle effect.
- Let the cookies cool for one hour to firm up. They will stay nice and soft soft but we need the inside to firm up completely.
Notes
Note: the molasses definitely comes through in these cookies, but I like that. You can use 1 tablespoon of molasses if you want a slightly less bitter flavor.
I haven’t tested this recipe with any other type of protein powder, so I highly recommend using PEScience to follow the recipe exactly as written! The code “matt” will save 10% on any PEScience order.
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Nutrition Information
Yield 8
Serving Size 1 Cookie
Amount Per Serving
Calories 85Total Fat 3gCarbohydrates 10gProtein 5.5g
