Cookie Swap: Chocolate Ginger Cookies

Want to contribute your favorite cookie recipe to our  Virtual Cookie Swap? Email them on over (with photo, please!) to theavidappetite [at] gmail [dot] com, we'll continue posting them as they roll in!

How is everyone this morning? It's a balmy 25 degrees in NYC but the sun is shining and flurries are falling! I'm just wishing it was more like real snow. Meanwhile, I've got Rockin' Holiday on Pandora and am ready to tackle the day. It also doesn't hurt that my Giants destroyed the Vikings last night - and I actually stayed awake for the whole game. It's a win all around!

Today we're dishing up another delectable cookie swap recipe! When the lovely ladies over at Like Mother Like Daughters, one of my favorite blogs, sent over their recipe for Chocolate Ginger Cookies, I was over the moon with excitement. They look gorgeous (especially with that profesh baker's twine! I need to get me some of that) and I cannot wait to add these to my cookie repetoire this holiday. Here's their note:

Thought we would send along our favorite Christmas cookie...so fun that you're doing this! We really enjoy your blog - looking forward to seeing what everyone submits! -Nancy

Chocolate Ginger Cookies
7 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
1 ½ cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 ¼ teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 tablespoon crystallized ginger, pulverized or 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
½ cup packed dark brown sugar
¼ unsulfured molasses
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 ½ teaspoons boiling water
¼ cup white sparkling sugar

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.

In a medium bowl, sift together flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and cocoa. In the bowl of your electric mixer, beat the butter and crystallized ginger until whitened, about 4 minutes. Add the brown sugar, and beat until combined. Add molasses, and beat until combined.

In a small bowl, dissolve the baking soda in the boiling water. Beat half of the flour mixture into the butter mixture. Beat in the baking soda mixture, then the remaining half of the flour mixture. Mix in the chocolate chips.

Turn dough out onto a piece of wax paper. Pat the dough out to about 1-inch thick, seal with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm, 2 hours or more. Roll the dough into 1-inch balls. Roll the balls in sparkling sugar. Bake until the surfaces crack slightly, 9-11 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

So what do you think? Didn't the ladies do an amazing job? I for one cannot wait to add these to my holiday assortment and I love that they changed up the traditional spicy gingerbread by adding a bit of chocolate to the mix! So what I want to know is: Are you a gingerbread fan?  For me, anything spiced in cool weather is tops!

Comments

[Kayla]

Chocolate and ginger just go soooo well together!! These look amazing!

[Emily @ For Sweets Sake]

I love ginger in recipes this time of year! So delicious! Those cookies are so cute tied up like that :)

[Katie @ Haute Apple Pie]

Gorgeous!! I wish I liked chocolate...I'll have to settle for the eye candy!

[SnoWhite]

Wow -- I like these!! we are big gingerbread fans around here, and chocolate sounds like a perfect combination.