Pomegranate, orange, and clove flavors are the perfect thing to spice up your holiday baking in these chewy and delicious pomegranate orange molasses cookies.
Why You Should Make this Recipe
I love pomegranate molasses in savory cooking. Since I always have it on hand, I was inspired to make this cookie recipe. After many tests, I found the perfect balance of flavors and textures in this special twist on molasses cookies.
Soft and chewy cookies are the absolute best, and these pomegranate orange molasses cookies are the perfect combination of sweet and citrus flavors.
Molasses is a thick sweet syrup that's great for dessert recipes, and made even better when infused with tangy pomegranate. The orange adds a blast of citrus to cut through the sweet, giving the molasses cookies a delicious balanced flavor.
This cookie dough is easy to make and can be made way ahead of time if you need it, as it freezes well and bakes as if it was freshly made. If you’re looking for a fun and unique version of a molasses cookie, you’ve found it! Trust me, they’re seriously addictive.
Ingredients
pomegranate molasses - Since pomegranate molasses is on the sour side, it is not typically used in baking recipes. Molasses is the primary sweetener in this recipe, and the balance of orange and cloves in this recipe makes the sourness of the pomegranate the perfect pairing.
orange flavor - you can substitute with extract. The orange is a necessary element in this recipe. If you leave it out, the flavor of the cookies will be soapy.
baking soda - this recipe uses baking soda to help spread the cookies. Do not substitute with baking powder.
Step-by-Step Recipe with Photos
With an electric mixer (link opens in new tab) or stand mixer (link opens in new tab), beat 1/4 cup of unsalted butter with 1/4 cup of dark brown sugar until light in color and texture.
Beat in 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil until well-mixed.
Scrape the batter down the sides of the bowl. Then add 3 tablespoons of pomegranate molasses and the 1 egg. Beat until well-mixed.
Sift in 1 cup of all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon cloves, and 1/4 teaspoon salt, mixing in with a spatula halfway through then continuing. Use your hands if necessary.
Cover the dough chill until firm, about 2 hours.
Heat the oven to 375°F. If the dough was chilling longer than 2 hours, let it come to room temperature for 30 minutes while the oven preheats.
Measure the dough into tablespoon-size pieces and roll each piece to form 1-inch balls.
Roll the balls in a dish with granulated sugar to coat. Put the balls 2 inches apart on lightly greased cookie sheets or a silicone baking mat (link opens in new tab).
Bake until the center surface of the cookies is barely dry, 9 to 10 minutes (don’t overbake). Let cool on the sheets for 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack (link opens in new tab) to cool completely.
Pairs beautifully around the holidays with a Whipped Eggnog or London Fog Latte. But my favorite pairing is with a simple, unsweetened, 2-ingredient matcha.
Molasses Cookies FAQs, Tips & Tricks
Cookies stay fresh covered at room temperature for 1 week.
You can make the cookie dough and chill it in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 days.
Once baked, the cookies freeze well for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
If freezing unbaked cookie dough, do so after rolling them into balls but before rolling in sugar. They will freeze well for up to 3 months. Let the dough balls sit at room temperature for 30 minutes, then roll them in granulated sugar and bake as directed.
More Recipes that Use Pomegranate Molasses
I love cooking with pomegranate molasses. It adds a beautiful sweet and sour flavor profile to any dish:
... or check out all the sweets on the blog here like this personal fall favorite, persimmon muffins.
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Pomegranate Molasses Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour 4.5 oz.
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. ground cloves
- 2 tsp. orange extract or flavor
- 1/4 tsp. sea salt
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter softened, 2 oz.
- 1/4 cup dark brown sugar packed tight
- 1 Tbs. vegetable oil
- 3 tbsp pomegranate molasses
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup Granulated sugar for rolling
Instructions
(Minimum) 2 Hours Before Baking
- With an electric mixer, beat the butter and brown sugar until light in color and texture.
- Beat in the oil until well-mixed.
- Scrape the batter down the sides of the bowl. Then add the pomegranate molasses and the egg. Beat until well-mixed.
- Sift in the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and salt, mixing in with a spatula halfway through then continuing. Use your hands if necessary.
- Cover the dough chill until firm, about 2 hours.
To Bake
- Heat the oven to 375°F. If the dough was chilling longer than 2 hours, let it come to room temperature for 30 minutes while the oven preheats.
- Measure the dough into tablespoon-size pieces and roll each piece to form 1-inch balls.
- Roll the balls in a dish with granulated sugar to coat. Put the balls 2 inches apart on lightly greased cookie sheets or a silicone baking mat.
- Bake until the center surface of the cookies is barely dry, 9 to 10 minutes (don’t overbake).
- Let cool on the sheets for 5 minutes.
- Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Such a lovely recipe! Perfect for this time of the year. The step by step pictures were really helpful! thank you!
Glad to hear you enjoyed it, Laura! You are so welcome!
Your cookies are fantastic. I am sitting here with a tea and wishing I had some more of those cookies to go with it. I better get baking before my tea gets cold!
I am so, so happy to hear it, Loreto... enjoy!
Beautiful cookies! Easy and perfect, everything I like about holiday cookies. I was intrigued to taste the pomegranante molasses with the cloves. Was great! Thanks for sharing!
I'm so glad to hear it, Paula... thank you for sharing!
Love the combination of ingredients in this cookies recipe. Perfect for holidays. Thanks For sharing
So glad to hear you liked it, Kushigalu!
Hello Candice,
I am absolutely loving the combination of pomagranate, orange and cloves here, it is perfect fall treat. I tried these delicious cookies along with my little one, holiday fun baking begins, Yay! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Hi Farrukh... thank you so much for sharing! And glad to hear the little one cooked along with you 🙂
These cookies are gorgeous!! I had never heard of pomegranate molasses but that is something I needed to pick up and try! ...perfect for the holidays <3
I'm so glad to hear you enjoyed them, Tammy!
These cookies reminded me of all things fall! They were perfectly soft and chewy. They'll definitely become a fixed part of the season around here.
I'm so glad to hear it, Marta!
Every year I participate in a cookie exchange and look for something just a little different. I love the pomegranate molasses and orange flavors in this one. I'm mixing a batch for the family first. It's smells heavenly. Thank you!
I am so glad to hear it, Sandra! These are different than anything I've ever had, and I hope it's the same for you!
Yum!! This is the perfect fall cookie! I love the combination of orange, cloves and pomegranate molasses. My daughter just asked me to make her cookies and these are great!
I'm so glad to hear you and your daughter enjoyed them, Aleta!
You've got to try these cookies! I've had pomegranate molasses in my pantry for a while now and wasn't sure what to use them for. You have lots of great suggestions on this post. And these cookies are different than anything I've ever had.
I am so glad to hear it, Bernice! They're definitely different, and I'm all about special, new kinds of flavor combos. Enjoy!