Soft, chewy chocolate gingerbread cookies! Made with dark chocolate, cocoa powder and fresh ginger.
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When I bake this chocolate gingerbread, the whole kitchen smells of winter spices. It’s impossible not to feel like the holidays have come.
Most gingerbread and gingerbread cookies don’t have enough ginger knob for me. My solution is to use real freshly grated ginger in the batter. It sounds finicky, but once you start using fresh ginger, it’s difficult to go back to just ground ginger.
The fresh ginger also gives the biscuits a warm spiciness, which forms a great contrast to the earthy chocolate.
The ingredient list for these cookies might seem daunting, but don’t worry. Most of the spices you probably already have in your spice drawer, the others are easy to find at the grocery store.
The whole recipe comes together quickly, but remember that you’ll need to chill the dough for at least 2 hours before forming the cookies into balls, plus chill an additional 20 minutes before baking. The dough will be soft and you will need to chill it to work with it.
Trust me: one bite of these soft, chewy cookies and you’ll find they’re worth any fuss!
Looking for more cookies for your cookie bowl?
- chocolate sprinkles
- Walnut snowball cookies
- Thumbprint Cookies
- Gingerbread Man Cookies
- Holiday Pinwheel Cookies
Want to see ALL the Christmas cookies we have? Go here!
Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies
Make sure you use dark, full, or robust molasses, but avoid blackstrap molasses. It gives the cookies an overwhelmingly bitter taste.
ingredients
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1/2 cup (115g or 1 stick) unsalted butter at room temperature
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1/2 cup (110g) packed dark brown sugar
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1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
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3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
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1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
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1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
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1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
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1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
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1/2 teaspoon baking soda
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1/2 cup (150 g) dark, full or robust molasses (not “blackstrap”)
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1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
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1 1/2 cups (210 g) all-purpose flour
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2 tablespoons Dutch processed cocoa
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1 cup (200 g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
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1/4 cup (50g) white granulated sugar for rolling out the cookies
special equipment
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blender
method
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Beat butter, brown sugar and spices until creamy:
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter, brown sugar, ground ginger, cinnamon, black pepper, cloves, nutmeg, salt and baking soda. Beat the ingredients until creamy until they form an evenly colored paste that sticks to the side of the bowl.
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Prepare cookie dough:
Add the molasses and freshly grated ginger and stir. Add the flour and cocoa and beat until no dry streaks of flour can be seen. Add the chocolate chips and mix until evenly distributed throughout the batter.
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Cool dough:
Scrape the dough onto a piece of plastic wrap. The dough will be soft and sticky. Flatten the dough until it’s about 1 inch thick, then wrap tightly with the plastic wrap. Chill the dough for 2 hours or overnight.
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Roll the chilled dough into balls:
Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking sheets. Place the white granulated sugar in a small bowl. Roll a piece of chilled dough between your palms into a 1 1/2 inch ball, then roll the ball in the sugar to coat. Transfer to the baking sheet and repeat with the remaining dough, keeping each ball slightly apart.
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To chill the cookie dough balls:
Place the baking sheets with the cookie dough balls in the refrigerator for 20 minutes. While the dough cools, preheat the oven to 325F.
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Bake cookies:
Bake the cookies for 11 to 13 minutes or until the tops of the cookies start to crack slightly. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
These cookies will keep in a sealed container at room temperature for about 5 to 7 days
