The only thing better than oatmeal cream pies? Molasses Cream Pie Cookies! The cookies are chewy, spicy, and stuffed with fluffy white chocolate buttercream! So much better than marshmallow fluff!
Molasses Cream Pie Cookie Recipe
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas… especially in my kitchen! And that means lots and lots of cookies!!! We’re actually gearing up for a new holiday series called “12 days of cookies”! We’ll be sharing a new cookie recipe 12 days in a row! It’s going to be awesome! These Molasses Cream Pie Cookies were originally for that series, but after one bite, I knew I had to share them asap! The molasses cookies are thick and chewy! And the cream filling is silky smooth and spiked with real white chocolate! They’re the ULTIMATE holiday cookie!
Ingredients for Molasses Cream Pie Cookies
- all-purpose flour: you will use almost 5 cups! So be sure you have a big bag.
- baking soda: always check to make sure your baking soda is fresh!
- ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, ground black pepper, cardamom: our spices!!! don’t be afraid of adding them all! These cookies are very sweet – especially with the white chocolate frosting – so the spice really balances everything out!
- salt: balances all of the flavors!
- butter: unsalted and at room temperature!
- light brown sugar: always pack the brown sugar firmly into the measuring cup.
- vanilla extract: enhances the other flavors.
- orange zest: my secret ingredient! Adds a delightful pop of flavor!
- eggs: use large eggs that have been brought to room temperature!
- molasses: not blackstrap variety!
- turbinado sugar or sparkling sugar: for rolling the cookies! King Arthur White Sparkling Sugar is my favorite!
- confectioners’ sugar: the sweetner for our white chocolate buttercream.
- heavy cream: or whipping cream!
- White chocolate: such as Lindt or Ghirardelli! Do not use white chocolate chips!
How to Make Molasses Cream Pie Cookies
- In a medium bowl combine together flour, baking soda, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, black pepper, and salt. Set flour mixture aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl using a hand mixer, beat together the butter and brown sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add in the vanilla and orange zest and beat until combined. Then add in the eggs. Pour in the molasses. Add in the dry ingredients and beat until it’s evenly incorporated.
- Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 4 hours!!! Do not skip chilling this dough!
- When you’re ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.
- Roll the dough into Tablespoon sized balls. Fill a small bowl with sugar and roll each ball until it’s completely coated. Place cookie dough balls on the prepared baking sheets.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the cookies have puffed up and have begun to slightly crack on top. Place cookie trays on wire racks to cool for a few minutes, then remove the cookies from the tray and transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Make the White Chocolate Buttercream
- Beat the butter on medium-speed until completely smooth.
- Reduce the speed to low and gradually add in the powdered sugar, about 1/4 cup at a time, beating the sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add in the salt and cream to the butter mixture. Add in the white chocolate and beat smooth. Once all of the ingredients have been incorporated, increase the speed to medium-high and beat for a minute.
- Spread frosting on the top of one cookie. Top with another cookies and lightly squeeze together!
If you try this recipe for Molasses Cream Pie Cookies, let me know what you think! Leave a comment below, and don’t forget to snap a pic and tag it #bakerbynature on instagram! Seeing your creations makes my day.
Molasses Cream Pie Cookies
Ingredients
For the Molasses Cookies:
- 4 and 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 Tablespoon baking soda
- 2 Tablespoons ground ginger
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/2 teaspoon cardamom
- 1/4 pinch finely ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 12 ounces unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 and 1/4 cups light brown sugar, packed
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2/3 cup molasses (not blackstrap variety)
- 1/2 cup sparkling sugar (for rolling the cookie dough)
For the White Chocolate Buttercream:
- 1 cup (227g/8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 and 1/2 cups (283g/10 ounces) confectioners’ sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 Tablespoons heavy cream
- 6 ounces (170g) quality white chocolate, melted and cooled for 10 minutes
Instructions
For the Molasses Cookies:
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, cardamom, black pepper, and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl using a handheld electric mixer, beat together the butter and brown sugar on medium-high speed until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 2 minutes, scraping down the sides as needed. Add in the vanilla and orange zest and beat until combined. Reduce the mixer speed to medium-low. Add in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add in the molasses and beat until combined. Gradually add in the dry ingredients and beat until it’s evenly incorporated, scraping the bottom of the bowl as needed.
- Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, and up to 3 days.
When ready to bake:
- Preheat oven to 350 (F). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.
- Roll the dough into 1 and 1/2 Tablespoon sized balls. Fill a small and shallow bowl with sparkling sugar. Roll each ball in the sugar until it's completely coated. Place the sugar coated cookie dough balls on the prepared baking sheets, leaving 2 inches between each ball for spreading.
- Bake, one tray at a time, for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the cookies have puffed up and have begun to slightly crack on top. (They will crack more as they cool, so don’t over bake!)
- Remove from the oven and place the pan on a cooling rack. Cool cookies for 5 minutes on the baking sheet, then carefully transfer the cookies to a separate cooling rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining cookie dough.
For the White Chocolate Buttercream:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl using a handheld electric mixer, beat the butter on medium-speed until completely smooth. Reduce the speed to low and gradually add in the confectioners' sugar, beating until all of the sugar is completely combined. Add in the salt and cream and beat smooth. Add in the white chocolate and beat smooth.
- Once all of the ingredients have been incorporated, increase the speed to medium-high and beat for a minute.
- Spread a large dollop of frosting on the top of one cooled cookie. Place another cookie on top and lightly press to seal them together. Repeat with all cookies.
- Store your Molasses Cookies Cream Pies in an airtight container, in the refrigerator, for up to 3 days.
Michele says
These are delicious cookies and were a huge hit so far. I’ll have to make more for Christmas. The recipes halved no problem. Can these be frozen as a complete cookie sandwich and then put in a cookie box after?
Shauna says
Phenomenal recipe! I made just the cookies without the icing and they are GREAT! When I tell you this will be a recipe I use every year! Such good balance of flavor and makes a soft inside. You have to try!
Barbara says
For some reason the recipe won’t print
Robin says
These cookies are delicious!! I started making a couple of years ago and now we have to have them every year! Do not be one of those people that tweak the recipes. Just do it!!!
Robin Stump says
These cookies are delicious!! I started making a couple of years ago and now we have to have them every year! Do not be one of those people that tweak the recipes. Just do it!!!
CARL says
These are stellar, Ashley. Just ate them. I am partial to these flavors, anyway. Making them into cream pies takes them to a new level. Before baking, I looked at the reviews that suggested adding orange zest to the vanilla buttercream. That was good, too. Another suggestion was adding maple to the buttercream. That was good, too. We liked all of the renditions! Thank you for the recipe.
Lauren says
I have mixed feelings about this recipe. On the one hand, each individual component is really tasty. The cookies are pleasantly spiced and the sugared exterior gives a nice crunch. The white chocolate buttercream is fluffy and tasty (I added some extra orange zest, which turned out great). But the cookies and buttercream together were sweetness overload!
I usually scoff when people complain about sweet desserts – um, hello! They’re supposed to be sweet! So I was really surprised at *just* how sweet these were, because I have a pretty high tolerance LOL. If I were to make these again, I’d either omit the filling altogether or I’d replace it with a cream cheese or mascarpone filling instead of white chocolate.
I wonder if I used the wrong kind of white chocolate? I noticed after the fact that the text above the recipe states,”White chocolate: such as Lindt or Ghirardelli! Do not use white chocolate chips!” whereas the actual recipe just says, “6 ounces (170g) quality white chocolate, melted and cooled for 10 minutes” with no mention of whether to use chips or not. I used Ghirardelli white chocolate chips, so I’m not really sure what to make of that. Some clarity there would be nice.
I halved the recipe and still yielded about 17 cookies, so I’m glad I didn’t commit to the full batch!
Mary Jennings says
New holiday / winter favorite! My mom preferred the plain cookies so I had some leftover icing and made a half-batch of dough after Christmas in order to use it up. Shared them with a coworker who described them as, “freaking amazing.” Definitely a keeper!
Kalyani says
This recipe seems super interesting! I can’t have eggs, what can I use to replace them in this recipe ? Flax egg?
Thank you !