The Ingredient Pair You Need For Softer Iced Oatmeal Cookies

Forget raisins or chocolate — sometimes, ultra-sweet, extra chewy, and oh-so-soft oatmeal cookies are more than enough exactly as they are. For this texture, you can thank the unique and genius combination of molasses and brown sugar. At first glance, this dynamic duo may seem like nothing special. However, it enhances both the taste and the texture of your oatmeal cookies, resulting in a softer, chewier dozen. 

Granted, both of those ingredients work wonders entirely on their own. By itself, brown sugar already contains some molasses, which is what distinguishes it from cane sugar. Dark brown sugar actually has more molasses than lighter versions, so it is therefore more likely to do the work of molasses. Namely, it will add moisture, yielding a soft and tender cookie. 

While dark brown sugar leaves your cookies in perfectly good hands, the addition of even more molasses to your dough ups both the softness and sweetness of oatmeal cookies. So long, dry and crisp cookies (though they have their place, too). With just a little bit of molasses and brown sugar, every bite will be all the chewier.

Fair warning, however: Different recipes call for different ratios, so tread — and pour — carefully. 

Oatmeal cookies tend to get the short end of the stick. But once you perfect your molasses and brown sugar ratio, we promise these cookies will be your new favorite. In general, you'll want to use more brown sugar than molasses for the most successful combination. Just a few spoonfuls of molasses mixed into your dough should be more than enough, especially if you're first experimenting with the ingredient. Start by pairing 1 to 2 teaspoons of molasses with 1 and ¾ cups of brown sugar. You'll be able to taste the result.

Other recipes, however, utilize similar amounts of brown sugar and molasses, making for a cookie that's as soft as can be. For even more molasses, lower your brown sugar content to about a ½ cup, and up your molasses to a ⅓ cup. No matter the amount, you'll usually want to incorporate dark or light molasses — which are most commonly used in baking — in lieu of the more robust blackstrap version.

Once you've added your brown sugar and molasses, dip your oatmeal cookies into your choice of frosting. Just a quick dunk and you'll add even more sweetness that perfectly complements your new favorite baking duo.