Molasses cookies: an iron number from one old record

Molasses has a reputation as an iron food, and the only human absorption data behind it come from syrup. In a study of 56 children aged 6 to 36 months, grape molasses syrup raised serum iron by 27.0 micrograms/dL in infants with iron deficiency anemia against 60.6 for ferrous sulfate, less than half the rise. In infants without anemia the two were similar. This was grape molasses, pekmez, given as syrup with nothing baked. For the cookie itself USDA has one legacy record with no sample range: 6.43 mg of iron per 3.5 oz (100 g), about 36% of the Daily Value. That record does not split how much iron comes from molasses and how much from enriched flour. A medium 30 g cookie works out to about 129 calories, 5.3 g of sugars and 1.9 mg of iron, values scaled from the 100 g figure rather than weighed. We found no study of molasses cookies themselves.

The numbers, per 3.5 oz (100 g)

As people eat it, per 3.5 oz (100 g)

How much is actually in it

• USDA lists molasses cookies at 6.43 mg of iron per 3.5 oz (100 g), about 36% of the Daily Value, plus 0.373 mg of copper and 146 micrograms of folate, from one legacy record with no sample range. — USDA SR Legacy record Cookies, molasses (n = 1 record) Evidence E source
  Iron 6.43 mg (36% DV), copper 0.373 mg (41% DV), folate 146 microg (36% DV) per 3.5 oz (100 g)
• Across 80 commercial biscuits sold in Spain, acrylamide averaged 343 micrograms per kg, ranging from under 20 to 2144. — 80 commercial biscuits marketed in Spain (n = 80) Evidence C source
  Mean 343 microg/kg, range <20 to 2144; 70% below the EU benchmark

What a real portion looks like

• One medium molasses cookie of 30 g carries about 129 calories, 5.3 g of sugars and 1.9 mg of iron in the US survey food database. — FNDDS food Cookie, molasses, US dietary survey portions (n = 1 food code) Evidence E source
  Per 30 g medium cookie: 129 calories, 5.3 g total sugars, 1.9 mg iron; small 20 g: 86 calories, 1.3 mg iron; large 45 g: 193.5 calories, 2.9 mg iron

What your body absorbs

• In infants with iron deficiency anemia, iron from grape molasses syrup raised serum iron by 27.0 micrograms/dL versus 60.6 for ferrous sulfate, though in non-anemic infants the two were similar. — 56 children aged 6-36 months, 30 with iron deficiency anemia and 26 without (n = 56) Evidence B source
  Anemic: 27.0 +/- 13.4 vs 60.6 +/- 17.0 microg/dL (p < 0.05); non-anemic: 23.0 vs 23.8 (p > 0.05)

What cooking and storage change

• According to FDA guidance on acrylamide, using less molasses in cookies may reduce the acrylamide formed during baking. — cookie manufacturers and food service, US (n = -) Evidence E source
  Direction only, no size given
• According to FDA guidance, baking cookies to a lighter color keeps acrylamide lower than baking the same cookies darker. — baked goods prepared in food service, US (n = -) Evidence E source
  Direction only, no size given

What it does to your health

• Pooled data from 17 cohorts of over 875,000 people link refined grain intake, including indulgent foods like cookies, to no clear change in cardiovascular risk (HR 1.08, 95% CI 0.99-1.18). — 17 prospective cohort studies, >875,000 participants (n = >875,000) Evidence C source
  CVD HR 1.08 (95% CI 0.99-1.18), stroke HR 1.06 (0.92-1.23)

Safety, limits and interactions

• In 801 non-smoking postmenopausal European women, biscuits, crackers and dry cakes were the main food group determinants of acrylamide blood adducts. — 801 non-smoking postmenopausal women from eight countries, EPIC cohort (n = 801) Evidence C source
  Biscuits, crackers and dry cakes the main food determinant; diet and lifestyle explained 26-30% of adduct variation

What people believe that the data does not support

• A filtered sugarcane molasses extract taken before breakfast lowered insulin responses in healthy adults dose by dose, but blood glucose curves did not change across 5 test meals, so a lower sugar spike from molasses was not shown. — healthy adults, standard breakfast with placebo syrup or 4 rising doses of molasses concentrate (n = not reported in abstract) Evidence B source
  Insulin lowered dose-dependently, glucose similar across 5 meals; size not in abstract

Who this works differently for

• In 92 constipated children aged 4 to 12, a 40% blackstrap molasses syrup at 1 mL/kg/day for a month worked as well as polyethylene glycol syrup, with no side effects seen. — 92 children aged 4-12 with functional constipation, 1 month (n = 92) Evidence B source
  No significant difference between groups, both improved; no side effects

The bottom line

Treat a molasses cookie as a cookie. A filtered sugarcane molasses extract taken before breakfast lowered insulin in healthy adults as the dose rose, while blood glucose curves stayed the same across all five test meals, and the abstract gives neither the number of people nor the size of the change. A smaller sugar spike from molasses was looked for and did not appear. Pooled cohorts of more than 875,000 people found that refined grain foods, cookies included, were not associated with cardiovascular disease (HR 1.08, 95% CI 0.99 to 1.18). That is observational, and molasses cookies were never counted on their own. The caution with data behind it is acrylamide, which forms as baked food browns. In 801 non-smoking postmenopausal European women, biscuits, crackers and dry cakes were the main food sources of acrylamide markers in blood, a measure of exposure with no disease endpoint and no separate count for molasses cookies. Across 80 commercial biscuits sold in Spain, none named as molasses cookies, acrylamide averaged 343 micrograms per kg and ranged from under 20 to 2144. FDA guidance says using less molasses and baking cookies to a lighter color may lower acrylamide, and it gives no size for either step. Molasses cookies are dark by recipe, so judging them by color is harder. Blackstrap molasses syrup at 1 mL per kg a day matched polyethylene glycol syrup for constipation in 92 children aged 4 to 12 over a month, with no side effects seen and no placebo arm. The children took it as syrup, and a cookie delivers a different dose.

Sources

1. molck-r4-01 · USDA FoodData Central SR Legacy, dataset
   Cookies, molasses (FDC 172724, SR Legacy, Baked Products): iron 6.43 mg per 100 g = 36% DV; copper 0.373 mg = 41% DV; folate 146 ug = 36% DV; Foundation samples 0, CoFID match none
   USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy, FDC 172724 · checked 2026-10-01
2. molck-r4-06 · food survey
   The mean acrylamide content was 343 μg kg-1 (from <20 to 2144 μg kg-1)... 70% of the samples were below the benchmark level established by the EU Regulation 2017/2158.
   Food Funct, 2019 · checked 2026-10-01
3. molck-r4-02 · USDA FNDDS 2021-2023, dataset
   Cookie, molasses (FNDDS 53230000, FDC 2707942, Cookies and brownies): energy 430 kcal, total sugars 17.6 g, iron 6.43 mg per 100 g; 1 medium = 30 g: 129.0 kcal, 5.3 g sugars, 1.9 mg iron; 1 small = 20 g; 1 large = 45 g
   USDA FNDDS 2021-2023, food code 53230000, FDC 2707942 · checked 2026-10-01
4. molck-r4-07 · RCT
   The mean increase of serum iron in GM-given infants with IDA was 27.0 +/- 13.4 micrograms/ dl and in FS-given infants, 60.6 +/- 17.0 micrograms/dl (p < 0.05). In the non-anemic group, the mean increase of serum iron of GM-given infants was 23.0 +/- 4.3 micrograms/dl, and that of FS-given infants, 23.8 +/- 10.0 micrograms/dl (p > 0.05).
   Turk J Pediatr, 1997 · checked 2026-10-01
5. molck-r4-03 · FDA guidance for industry
   Decreasing molasses use in cookies may reduce acrylamide formation (Ref. 44).
   US FDA, Guidance for Industry: Acrylamide in Foods, March 2016 · checked 2026-10-01
6. molck-r4-04 · FDA guidance for industry
   In general, lighter-colored bread crusts and lighter-colored cookies will have lower acrylamide levels than darker versions of the same breads or cookies.
   US FDA, Guidance for Industry: Acrylamide in Foods, March 2016 · checked 2026-10-01
7. molck-r4-10 · meta-analysis of cohorts
   refined grain intake was not associated with risk of CVD (HR = 1.08, 95% CI, 0.99-1.18, I2 = 70%; 9 cohorts)... as well as for meta-analyses of studies that included both staple and indulgent grain foods (e.g., cakes, cookies, doughnuts, brownies, muffins, pastries).
   Trends Cardiovasc Med, 2024 · checked 2026-10-01
8. molck-r4-05 · cross-sectional
   The main food group determinants of HbAA, HbGA, and HbAA + HbGA were biscuits, crackers, and dry cakes.
   Eur J Nutr, 2017 · checked 2026-10-01
9. molck-r4-09 · RCT
   The plasma glucose concentration curves were similar for the five test meals. Plasma insulin curves were lowered in a dose-dependent manner.
   Eur J Nutr, 2016 · checked 2026-10-01
10. molck-r4-08 · RCT
    Ninety-two patients were randomly divided in two groups of BSM or PEG syrups (40%) with a dose of 1 mL/kg body weight/day for 1 month... Treatment was successful with both interventions with no significant difference between the groups.
    J Ethnopharmacol, 2019 · checked 2026-10-01