Is there a substitute for molasses? It is for an oatmeal cookie recipe. Thank you.

The closest molasses substitute would be sorghum--widely available in the South, but I can't vouch for other areas of the country. And yes, you could use maple syrup, but it is sweeter and has a very different flavor profile. Dark brown sugar has a molasses-y flavor, but you might have to alter your recipe a bit to compensate for using less liquid.

Maple syrup but it might be a bit sweeter. If you want to try to keep some of that molasses flavor, you could use a combination of dark brown sugar and syrup (or honey).

Honey, maple syrup, sorghum would all work as exactly measured subs. However, they will alter the flavor of the cookie. Molasses has a distinctive flavor. Actually there are two different molasses, blackstrap and unsulphured, and each has its own flavor profile. So it depends upon what you are going for.

Honey works well also.

I have no idea what your cookie recipe is but I've successfully substituted cane syrup for other things.