Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies are perfect for holiday celebrations!
Welcome to our 1st Annual Holiday Baking Bonanza! I sure hope you remembered your sweet tooth ↓
MY RECENT VIDEOSTessa and I will be co-hosting this event for the remainder of 2016 and we couldn’t be more excited. We’ll be sharing festive recipes, tons of expert tips and tricks, giveaways, and so much more. Have you joined our FREE FACEBOOK COMMUNITY, yet? We’ll be sharing valuable information there, as well as just chatting with you about the holidays and your baking needs, click here to join us!
I couldn’t think of a better way to kick off our holiday baking bonanza than by sharing a recipe from Tessa’s Christmas Cookies e-book. Tessa is a cookie master, so I knew I was in safe hands with any recipe from her book. After hours of deliberating, I finally settled on her chewy chocolate gingerbread cookies. And I’m SO glad I did. These cookies are a chocolate lovers dream! The aromatic spices are subtle, but add wonderful depth and balance.
I cannot wait to make these with my family on Christmas eve!
Tips and Tricks for Recipe Success:
- This recipe calls for Dutch-process cocoa powder, which is different from regular cocoa powder. Dutch-process cocoa powder is made from cocoa beans that have been treated with potassium solution, which neutralizes their acidity. Dutch-process cocoa powder is also darker and more mellow in flavor. Click here to check-out my favorite brand.
- You’ll want to plan ahead time wise with this recipe, as the cookie dough needs to chill at least two hours, but can also be chilled overnight. The longer you refrigerate the dough, the thicker and chewier the cookies will bake up.
- You will also need to chill the dough once it’s been rolled into balls, but only for 20 minutes. I don’t recommend skipping either of the chilling stages!
- Don’t over bake your cookies! The cookies will look almost uncooked in the center when you pull them from the oven, but will firm up quite a bit while cooling.
Don’t let the holiday season slip by without baking a batch of these chewy chocolate gingerbread cookies!
If you try this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment below and don’t forget to snap a pic and tag it #bakerbynature on instagram! Seeing your kitchen creations makes my day.
Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies
Prep
Cook
Total
Yield 2 dozen cookies (more or less depedning on how large you roll them)
Extra thick and chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies are perfect for holiday celebrations.
Ingredients
- 1 and 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 and 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, freshly grated
- 1 tablespoon unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
- 1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled and freshly grated
- 1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
- 1/2 cup unsulfured molasses
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons boiling water
- 6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped into 1/4 inch chunks
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
Instructions
- Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, ground ginger, ground cinnamon, ground cloves, freshly grated nutmeg, and Dutch-process cocoa powder; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and fresh ginger on medium-speed until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl if needed; about 4 minutes. Add brown sugar and beat until well combined. Add molasses and beat until well combined.
- In a small bowl combine the baking soda and boiling water. Add half of the flour mixture to the butter mixture, then add the baking soda mixture. Beat in the remaining flour. Mix in the chocolate chunks until just combined. Be sure not to over mix the dough at any point. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least two hours, or overnight.
- When ready to bake:
- Using a medium spring-loaded cookie scoop, shape the dough into 1 and 1/2 tablespoon rounds and place 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Roll each ball in the granulated sugar, then chill for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 325 degrees (F). Bake one sheet at a time, for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges are set and the surfaces just begin to crack. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
Cookies are best served the day they are baked but will keep, stored in an airtight container, for up to 5 days.
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 1-2 cookies
Amount Per Serving | ||
|---|---|---|
% Daily Value |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
Oooh la la! I am totally drooling over here – I must make these this fall/winter! Pinned 🙂
Haha thank you, Eva!!! Let me know how they turn out 🙂
i’m not a huge fan of the really hard gingerbread; i feel like i’m gonna break a tooth on one! but this chewy, gingerbread-spiced cookie (with chocolate!) sounds like the perfect way to get the flavor of gingerbread, but with better texture (:
Same! I love the ginger flavor, but I prefer soft and chewy cookies. I hope you try these out, Heather 🙂
Would it ruin the cookies if I use regular unsweetened cocoa instead of Dutch process ? I don’t use it often so I don’t have it on hand. Or, can I omit it all together? Thanks!
Hi Mel. I don’t think using regular unsweetened cocoa powder will ruin these cookies, they’ll probably be lighter in color though!
The addition of chocolate to gingerbread cookies! This would be the perfect cookie to try out for Christmas!
Yesssss I’m so ready for gingerbread and holiday baking. These look amazing!
Make these…fantastic!
Hi there! These are mouthwatering! Wondering if I can freeze them before baking? Thanks!
Hi Paula! Totally! Just add a minute or two to the bake time since you’ll be baking the dough from frozen form 🙂
Ooo! These look amazing! ^.^
Thank you! They’re so good – especially this time of year 🙂
I made these cookies for a bake sale and I received many compliments on the texture! Unfortunately, the outside of the cookie was the same colour as my molasses and dark chocolate. How did you get the light brown exterior? I would love to know!
LUUUV GINGERBREAD IF I CANT GET THE COOKIE OR BREAD I SPRINKLE THE SPICES IN MY COFFEE
WITH A tsp.SPOON OF COCONUT OIL AND A PINCH OF CAYENNE AND TBSP OF CHOC (85%) CHIPS.
ANY WAY HAPPY NEW 2017 TO YOU AND GOOD WISHES FOR ALL YOU MANIFEST IN YOUR BAKING WORLD? I ENJOYED READING YOUR ARTICLE AND HOW YOU GOT STARTED WITH BAKING? YOUR
PRESENTATIONS ARE A MASTERPIECE ! AND LOOK DELICIOUS .
I DO NOT USE GLUTEN OR CORN SYRUP ! ONLY GRADE B AMBER MAPLE SYRUP AND WILD RAW HONEY.
I GREW UP IN A GARDENING AND BAKING COOKING ENVIROMENT ALL WAS MADE AT HOME.
I DID PREPPING FOR MOM AS A CHILD BUT LEARNED ALL ABOUT COOKING AND BAKING FROM A COOK BOOK IN MY ADULT YEARS?
I LOOK FORWARD NTO MAKING THOSE COOKIES ! I WILL ROLL AND FREEZE AND USE WHEN I WANT A DELICIOUS TREAT .
THANKS FOR SHARING YOUR RECIPES..
SINCERELY. JUDITH
Hi I would love to try this recipe, because I love chocolate chip cookies n ginger snaps! Would u recommend any alternative to molasses??
I just made a batch and they are delish! Chewy, chocolately and touch of heat from the ginger/spices!
I wanted to like these so badly but they came out horrible. After the two hour refrigeration, I rolled them and froze them overnight. When they cooled they were flat as a pancake with ugly bumps from the chocolate. Super disappointing
These are the best cookies on all fronts – chewy, excellent flavor, good touch of heat from the spices and soooo amazing with chocolate. Mine were much darker than yours from the molasses, but I don’t think that affected the flavor at all, on the contrary they looked really lovely & festive after being rolled in sugar. Thanks for the recipe! This will definitely be my go-to cookie. 🙂
Love these cookies! They came out exactly like the picture!
Hi! I made these this morning after letting the dough chill overnight, and while they were delicious they came out very flat — where do you think I went wrong? Did I over mix at any point or was the leavening and water not enough?
Thank you!