Martha Stewart Pumpkin-Shaped Molasses Spice Cookies are a make ahead fall treat, spiked with dark rum and loaded with ginger, allspice, nutmeg, and cloves. They bake up crisp and snappy, and the recipe makes 4 dozen, so they are built for cookie swaps and holiday tins.
The butter and molasses dough freezes between rolls, so the cookies hold their pumpkin shape through the oven. Roll a scant 1/4 inch thick and freeze the cutouts until hard before baking for crisp, snappy edges.
Martha Stewart Pumpkin-Shaped Molasses Spice Cookies
Course: DessertCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Medium48
servings40
minutes1
hour95
kcalSnappy, crisp cookies with a deep molasses flavor and warm layers of ginger, allspice, and cloves, baked until the edges turn amber.
Ingredients
1/3 cup hot water
1/4 cup dark rum
4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for parchment and dough
2 1/4 teaspoons coarse salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup molasses
Directions
- Combine the liquids: In a bowl, combine hot water and rum. In another bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking soda, and spices.
- Cream the butter: In a third bowl, beat butter with sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to medium and slowly add rum mixture. Beat well, scraping down sides of bowl. (Batter will look broken.)
- Add the flour: On low speed, add flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with 2 additions of molasses. Scrape down sides of bowl and beat until smooth.
- Chill the dough: Divide dough into quarters; wrap each piece in plastic wrap. Freeze 1 hour.
- Roll the dough: On a very generously floured piece of parchment, generously flour top of 1 piece of dough. Roll out a scant 1/4 inch thick, reflouring as needed. Slide dough on parchment onto a baking sheet. Freeze until firm.
- Cut the cookies: Cut with a 3-inch pumpkin-shaped cookie cutter; transfer shapes to a clean parchment-lined baking sheet. Freeze until hard. Reroll and cut scraps once. Repeat with remaining dough.
- Bake the cookies: Preheat oven to 375°F. With a small paring knife, cut a wide arc out of one side of each pumpkin. Bake until edges are golden, about 13 minutes. Let cookies cool completely on wire racks.
FAQs
Can I make the dough ahead of time?
The wrapped dough quarters freeze well for up to 2 weeks, so you can mix a batch now and bake closer to the party. Pull them out to the fridge for about 30 minutes before rolling so the dough softens enough to work with but stays firm.
What can I use instead of dark rum in these cookies?
Bourbon works as a direct swap and adds its own warmth to the molasses. You can also use apple cider or strong brewed coffee if you want to skip alcohol entirely, though the rum gives the cookies a deeper, more complex flavor.
How long do molasses spice cookies stay fresh?
Store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days, and they keep their snap the whole time. After that they start to soften, so freeze baked cookies in a single layer for up to a month if you need them to last.
Do I need a pumpkin-shaped cookie cutter?
Any 3-inch cutter works since the dough and spice blend are the same regardless of shape. Stars, leaves, or plain rounds all bake in the same 13 minutes at 375°F. Skip the arc cut if your cutter does not call for it.
Why did my cookies spread too much in the oven?
The dough was probably too warm when it hit the oven. Freeze the cut shapes until they are hard, not just firm, and bake straight from the freezer. If your kitchen runs hot, work with one sheet of cutouts at a time and keep the rest in the freezer until the previous batch is done.
