Mennonite Girls Can Cook is a collection of recipes which were posted daily for a period of ten years from 2008 to 2018. We have over 3,000 delicious recipes that we invite you to try. The recipes can be accessed in our recipe file by category or you can use the search engine.

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Old Fashioned Chocolate Molasses Cookies

I had been looking for a recipe that my mother in law used to make. A chocolate and a molasses cookie all in one. And find it I did, written on a small piece of paper. My mom did the same. Recipes were jotted down on whatever piece of paper was handy. Often it was written on the back of a used envelope, everything got recycled! Now I wish that I had all those pieces of paper in my recipe collection.
  • 3/4 cup shortening
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup molasses
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 3/4 cups milk
  • 3 cups flour
  • 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons cocoa
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  1. Cream shortening, sugar and molasses together.
  2. Add egg and vanilla and mix until well blended.
  3. Sift flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt together.
  4. Stir into creamed mixture alternately with the milk until well mixed.
  5. At this point you can make drop cookies by dropping rounded teaspoonfuls of the dough on a baking pan lined with parchment paper or add enough flour to make a dough that can be rolled, then cut with a cookie cutter.
  6. Bake in a 375ยบ oven for 10 to 12 minutes.
  7. Frost with a plain vanilla icing.
  8. Yield: 2 dozen cookies. My cookies were rather on the large size, just like I remember them.
Vanilla Icing:
  • 2 cups icing sugar
  • 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons softened butter
  • 1 teaspoons vanilla
  • 3 to 4 tablespoons milk
  1. Combine and stir till smooth and well blended. If necessary add more icing sugar or milk for spreading consistency.

28 comments:

  1. These are tempting... especially with the icing. THANKS!

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  2. Yum! Nothing better than family recipes for homemade cookies. I'm always on the hunt for delicious new cookies...so I'll be giving this one a try.

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  3. GLORY....these sounds WONDERFUL..glad you found that slip of paper....my grandma's did the same thing.

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  4. Oh my! I think I'll just take the top layer and run! Sounds wonderful!

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  5. Oh no, something else that will add a few more pounds to the body :) Looks goof enough to eat.

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  6. My Grandma Ediger used to make a very similar sounding/looking cookie. We have never been able to find the recipe or create anything similar. Until today. I think this might be it. I will know after I make them and taste! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

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  7. these look and sound amazing. I can't wait to try the recipe

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  8. Molasses cookies are my favorite (in particular the "moose hunters" from my time in NS), and these look so good! I may have to try them! I'm in the process of making a blog of my grandma's recipes (she passed away 3 1/2 years ago) that she had written in an old scribbler & pretty much anything she could find to write on too.

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  9. My recipe includes cinnamon and the dough tastes ALOT like tootsie rolls! Its amazing.

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  10. ohhh, yum, and icing no less... and soft and ohhh yummy... this looks like it could be a family fav just by the picture...

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  11. I am so glad I stumbled upon your blog. My husband loves the taste of molasses. I will have to make these cookies for him. Thanks for sharing.

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  12. My imagination is working overtime, I think I can smell them - mmmmm! Can't wait to try them. When I saw your post this morning I decided these were going to be my new cookie to try this Christmas. My mom and grandmother took a basic school scribbler and wrote their recipes in them. But there are loose bits of paper stuck in here and there.My mother has my grandmother's and I hope to inherit them both some day.

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  13. The scent alone makes this recipe worth trying. Leave the windows ajar...the neighbors will come by for sure!

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  14. My mum wrote her recipes on scraps of paper & backs of envelopes too ...&...I do now as well.
    Have a lovely day...& thanks for keeping the recipes coming...love your site...hugs ..Robyn :)

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  15. This is a combination I have never before heard of,but,a cookie and with icing no less has to be good.
    Blessings,Ruth

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  16. I just found this lovely blog and am thankful for all the old recipes and memories they bring. Mom grew up in the Ukraine and Mennonite Relief placed them with farmer relatives in Manitoba after the war. I was born in Winnipeg. We moved to the US in the late 50s when Ford hired my Dad away from CPR. I just found and rescued my Mom's recipe file with those slips of paper recipes and hope to gather together favorites for a memory book for the girls. I'm having such fun reading through your recipes. blessings from Alaska. Angela

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  17. Ladies... thank-you for all the wonderful recipes that you share. These cookies look so yummy that I'm going to try it this holiday season. I host Thanksgiving at my home every year with about 25-30 family and friends in attendance. Going through your site, I found several other recipes that I'll have to try. Thanks again for sharing.
    Barb

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  18. They do look good. Glad you found that piece of paper :0)

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  19. This sounds so yummy!! I will have to try these. I LOVE molasses cookies:)
    Cheryl

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  20. what can I say but....YUMMY!!!

    Will have to try them.

    Thanks, Betty,
    Luv, sis

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  21. I make molasses cookies for the holidays, however, I've never even thought of combining molasses with chocolate...brilliant!! WONDERFUL photo too.

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  22. Molasses cookies with cocoa, wow! Saving and trying these. Just about molasses anything is a huge hit with me. Ole Sweetie-Pi will be smiling BIG because of the chocolate. Looks as if we both win on this delicious sounding treat. And frosted to boot.

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  23. I made these yesterday. Very easy and as wonderful as they look!!

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  24. Could you please add the recipe for vanilla icing? Thanks.

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  25. Betty, I am tagging this one. I have had these I think, but now I have the recipe. Wishing I had one right now. Kathy

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  26. Do you cream the molasses with the sugar and shortening? Does it just count as a "sugar"?

    And my dough was really soft; almost the texture of whipped frosting. The cookies turned out well, with a very cakey texture.

    The molasses flavor wasn't very strong, but I might have been just short of a 1/2 cup as I used up a jar.

    And I LOVE this blog. Thank you so much for putting all the time and effort into it.

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  27. Yes Beth you mix the sugar, molasses and shortening together..I had missed typing that but have corrected it now.
    Yes the dough is softer but it worked well for me too. I thought the molasses flavor was strong enough, maybe different type of molasses?

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