youthsweets

menu icon
go to homepage
  • Recipes
  • Meet Heather
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Recipes
  • Meet Heather
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
×
Home » Recipes » Cookies

Peanut Butter Molasses Cookies

Oct 14, 2022 by Heather Janak · This post may contain affiliate links ·

  • SMS
  • Email
  • Print
  • Facebook
  • Reddit
↓ Jump to Recipe

This Peanut Butter Molasses Cookies recipe produces soft cookies, with the perfect balance of molasses and peanut butter flavors, frosted with creamy peanut butter frosting and topped with chopped peanuts.

birds eye view of peanut butter molasses cookies on round cooling rack

These may not seem like it, but they are kind of a Halloween cookie! I took inspiration from peanut butter kisses, the chewy peanut butter molasses flavored candies in orange and black wrappers. I remember having them as a child, but never knew what they actually were because the wrappers were brandless!

Sometimes you just want an easy drop cookie, like my Ranger Cookies, and sometimes you want a neater iced cut-out cookie, like my Lemon Meltaways. And then sometimes, you want something in between, which is where these come in. They are an easy drop style cookie, but are classed up by frosting and a peanut garnish.

Jump to:
  • Ingredients
  • Instructions
  • Substitutions
  • Variations
  • Equipment
  • Storage
  • Top tip
  • 📖 Recipe
  • 💬 Comments

Ingredients

These easy cookies use pantry staples and are a great way to use up leftover molasses after the holidays:

ingredients birds eye view clockwise: molasses, egg, all-purpose flour, peanutbutter, baking soda, salt, vanilla, dark brown sugar, unsalted butter, powdered sugar, granulated sugar
  • unsalted butter
  • dark brown sugar
  • granulated sugar
  • peanut butter
  • egg
  • vanilla extract
  • molasses
  • all-purpose flour
  • baking soda
  • powdered sugar
  • milk
  • chopped peanuts

See recipe card for quantities.

Instructions

Here’s how to make these cookies:

Peanut Butter Molasses Cookies wet ingredients mixed in glass bowl

Beat together the butter and sugars. Add egg, vanilla and molasses.

whisking dry ingredients

Combine flour, baking soda and salt. Add to the wet ingredients, scoop dough balls and bake.

beating frosting

Make the frosting. Beat butter and peanut butter. Add vanilla, salt and powdered sugar. Add milk, if desired.

Peanut Butter Molasses Cookie with frosting and peanuts

Pipe the frosting on the cooled cookies and garnish with chopped peanuts, if desired.

Good to know: Do not over bake the cookies. They are already dark because of the molasses so it can be hard to tell when they are done. So keep an eye on them towards the end of baking and remove them as soon as the tops are set to ensure your cookies stay moist and chewy.

Substitutions

Here are some easy ingredient swaps if you want to make these cookies vegan:

Save this recipe! ✉️

We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!

  • Egg — use a vegan egg replacer like The Neat Egg
  • Butter — use a vegan butter
  • Milk — use almond or oat milk

Variations

I played around with how to decorate these to incorporate both flavors in the garnish, but ultimately left off molasses in the garnish. Here’s some variation ideas:

  • Molasses drizzle — If you really love the taste of raw molasses, you can do a drizzle of it on top of the peanut butter icing.
  • Molasses in the frosting — I was actually kicking myself for not doing this initially. I think this is a great way to incorporate molasses in the garnish without it being so punchy and raw.
  • Chocolate chips — A little chocolate in the cookie would go great with the peanut butter and molasses flavors!

Do you have any other variation suggestions? Let me know in the comments!

Equipment

I used a medium cookie scoop for these, because I wanted them to be a bit bigger than normal. You could also use a regular cookie scoop or just two spoons.

For the frosting, I used a plain round piping tip and a piping bag, but you could also just spoon it on.

Storage

Store at room temperature in an airtight container for 3-4 days.

Raw cookie dough can be frozen for 3-4 months.

Top tip

Cream the butter and sugar together for at least 3 minutes. This ensures the sugar is evenly distributed and creates micro pockets of air according to Serious Eats.

Lastly, if you make these Peanut Butter Molasses Cookies be sure to leave a comment or give this recipe a rating. I love to see when people make my recipes, so please tag me @youthsweets on Instagram if you post!

📖 Recipe

birds eye view of peanut butter molasses cookies on round cooling rack

Peanut Butter Molasses Cookies

Heather Janak
Soft Peanut Butter Molasses Cookies frosted with creamy peanut butter frosting and topped with chopped peanuts.
No ratings yet. Be the first!
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes mins
Cook Time 10 minutes mins
Total Time 20 minutes mins
Course Dessert, Snack
Cuisine American
Servings 20 cookies
Calories 214 kcal

Equipment

  • Silicone baking mats
  • Kitchenaid mixer
  • Piping Bags
  • Piping Tips
  • Large Metal Mixing Bowl

Ingredients
  

Cookie dough

  • ½ cup unsalted butter (114g) room temperature
  • ½ cup packed dark brown sugar (100g)
  • ⅓ cup granulated sugar (66g)
  • ½ cup peanut butter (120g)
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoon molasses
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour (120g)
  • ¾ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt

Frosting

  • ½ cup unsalted butter (114g) room temperature
  • ½ cup peanut butter (123g)
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 ½ cups powdered sugar (187g)
  • 1 tablespoon milk
  • ¼ cup chopped peanuts optional
Shop Ingredients on Jupiter

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare baking trays with parchment paper.
  • Cream together butter, dark brown sugar, granulated sugar and peanut butter for 3 minutes in the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl with beaters.
  • Add egg, vanilla and molasses. Beat to combine.
  • In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. Whisk to combine. Add to the wet ingredients. Mix just until combined.
  • With a medium cookie scoop, scoop balls onto a parchment-lined baking tray.
  • Bake 10-12 minutes, banging the tray near the end to help the cookies flatten.
  • Remove and let sit on baking tray for 2-3 minutes before transferring to a rack to cool completely.

Make the frosting

  • Beat butter for 3-4 minutes until lighter in color and fluffy. Add peanut butter, vanilla and salt and beat to combine.
  • Add powdered sugar in batches beating slowly to combine. Add milk and beat until fluffy.

Decorate cookies

  • Pipe peanut butter frosting on top of the cooled peanut butter molasses cookies in a swirl pattern with a plain round tip.
  • Top with chopped peanuts, if desired.

Notes

Store at room temperature in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
Raw cookie dough can be frozen for 3-4 months.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cookieCalories: 214kcal
Keyword cookies, frosting, molasses, peanut butter, peanut butter molasses cookie
Tried this recipe?Let me know how it was!

More Cookies

  • easy lemon pepper sugar cookies.
    Easy Lemon Pepper Sugar Cookies
  • square jam sandwich cookies tiled together with various designs, some matcha, some dusted with powdered sugar, some glazed.
    Jam Sandwich Cookies
  • halloween checkerboard cookies on a silver tray on a black cloth covered table, black cacao powder and purple sweet potato powder nearby
    Checkerboard Halloween Cookies
  • pumpkin filled cookies stacked on top of each other in a pile, maple glaze drizzle on half of the cookie
    Pumpkin Filled Cookies
0 0 votes
Article Rating
1 Comment
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
portrait of heather janak in the kitchen

Hi, I'm Heather!

I am a baker with a passion for elevated desserts. I personally write, test and photograph every recipe you see here. Follow along as I develop easy and challenging recipes alike!

about me

In my oven recently

  • Rainbow funfetti birthday sheet cake with slice removed to show sprinkle cake interior.
    Rainbow Funfetti Birthday Sheet Cake
  • large homemade brioche cinnamon rolls on a gold pan.
    Large Homemade Brioche Cinnamon Rolls
  • Coconut Milk Sago with Pineapple and Mandarin in glass, wood spoon nearby.
    Coconut Milk Sago with Pineapple and Mandarin
  • Pecan Shortbread Squares with Marshmallow on its side to show layers.
    Pecan Shortbread Squares with Marshmallow

Footer

↑ back to top

About

  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclaimer
  • Terms & Conditions

Follow me!

  • TikTok
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Facebook

Contact

  • Contact
  • Services

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Copyright © 2025 youthsweets LLC

wpDiscuz

Rate This Recipe

Your vote:




A rating is required
A name is required
An email is required