Gingerbread Chocolate Cookies

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Spicy gingerbread chocolate cookies filled with chunks of chocolate and rolled in a crunchy sugar coating.

gingerbread chocolate cookie sitting on a wooden surface with burnt red kitchen towel behind it

Because what is a Christmas cookie celebration without some gingerbread in the house. None. None at all, really.

My love affair with these cookies goes all the way back to last year. And yes, I actually have been waiting a whole entire year to bring these cookies to you thanks to someone near and dear to our heart.

These chocolate gingerbread cookies are brought to you (the internet) by Martha Stewart, but they were originally brought to our home and our tastebuds by our gym member and loyal Fresh April Flours fan Laura.

aerial photo of collection of gingerbread chocolate cookies

Last year, Laura gifted us a tin of cookies, which were all DELISH.

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I guess I’m a little biased because several of them were recipes from my blog (LOL), but truly, we had such a fun time tasting our way through Laura’s cookie tin.

a white plate full of gingerbread chocolate cookies

Now, I love me some desserts. But the real sugar lover in our house is Matt, so when it comes time for gifts of goodies, I usually let him finish off whatever I’ve at least been able to try, because I’d rather indulge in a bag of chips AFTER a few bites of something sweet.

But these gingerbread chocolate chip cookies? Nooooope. Nope nope nope. There was actual arguing over who got to have the last one, because they were BY FAR my favorite cookie out of the whole tin.

a white plate full of gingerbread chocolate cookies

We wound up splitting the last one because neither of us could bear to watch the other devour the last one, knowing the next time we’d be able to enjoy one was either if we begged Laura for more or I could get my hands on how to make them myself.

So I’m pretty certain that I was still savoring the last crumb when I texted Laura to ask her for the recipe, and I immediately made a note that I was going to include them in 2020’s 12 Days of Christmas Cookies collection.

a white plate full of gingerbread chocolate cookies

Now if you’re wondering if chocolate and ginger go well together, I’m here to tell you DO NOT QUESTION. It is such a lovely combo, and the sweet and creamy chocolate is a lovely complement to all the spiciness going on inside these ginger chocolate chip cookies.

I should also note that these chocolate ginger cookies are not for people who sort of like ginger/gingerbread. This is for the serious ginger/gingerbread lovers, because these babies are SPICY (in the spiced way, not in the hot way).

bite taken out of a gingerbread chocolate cookie

Personally, I am ready for ginger/gingerbread as soon as we hit fall, meaning hand me a can of pumpkin filling, a jar of molasses, and a shaker of ground ginger, and I’m good on desserts all the way through until January.

When I gave a look at Martha’s recipe, I had a lot of questions for Laura. There are some things I don’t love about it, and since Laura was a seasoned chocolate chip ginger cookies baker, we troubleshot (is that the word I want?! SERIOUS QUESTION.) ways to streamline the recipe.

Martha’s original recipe calls for fresh ginger, and while I certainly do love me some ginger, I don’t love buying an extra ingredient and doing literal dirty work to get it into my recipe if I can find an appropriate substitution.

aerial photo of gingerbread chocolate cookie

So if you’re into gingerbread cookies with fresh ginger, by all means, grate some up! But if you’re not into all that, I assure you the version that Laura and I have collectively made several times will do you well in the flavor department.

This dough is really simple. And while these cookies aren’t vegan (hello, butter and chocolate!), they are egg-free which makes them a really easy swap to be vegan, and they’re also suitable for folks with egg allergies– woot!

gingerbread chocolate cookie sitting on a wooden surface with burnt red kitchen towel behind it

I had several taste testers on these cookies, and the general consensus was the same– these were the favored cookie the majority of the time, which is saying a lot considering I lumped them in with nearly all of the cookies in this year’s 12 Days of Christmas Cookies collection.

If you’re even remotely a ginger fan, these cookies are so very much for you. They’re perfectly spiced with notes (and chunks!) of chocolate, and my favorite added touch is the sparkly sugar coating on the outside.

Because remember, it’s 2020 and we can take all of the added sparkle we can get.

bite taken out of a gingerbread chocolate cookie sitting on top of other cookies

Dearest Laura, thank you so much for sharing your love of muscles and cookies with us. We are so grateful for you for so many reasons, and we are forever indebted to you for adding this Christmas cookie staple to our cookie baking day for all the years to come!

Gingerbread Chocolate Cookies

Spicy gingerbread chocolate cookies filled with chunks of chocolate and rolled in a crunchy sugar coating.
Prep Time15 minutes
Bake Time12 minutes
Chilling Time2 hours
Total Time2 hours 27 minutes
Recipe Author Lynn April
Servings: 16 cookies

Ingredients

  • ¾ cup + 1 Tablespoon (105g) all-purpose flour be sure to measure properly
  • ½ Tablespoon (3g) Dutch processed cocoa powder1
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons ground ginger
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • teaspoon ground cloves
  • teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • ¼ cup (53g) unsalted butter softened to room temperature
  • ¼ cup (50g) firmly packed brown sugar
  • 2 Tablespoons (30mL) unsulfured molasses
  • 4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate2 finely chopped
  • ¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar

Instructions

  • In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. Set aside.
  • In a medium size bowl with a handheld mixer, or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and brown sugar together until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Scrape down the sides, add the molasses, and beat until everything is combined.
  • Reduce the mixer speed to low, then slowly add in the flour mixture, and beat until combined. Add the chocolate and mix until evenly dispersed. Pat dough out to about 1 inch thick, then wrap or cover tightly, and chill at least 1 hour or up to 2 days.
  • When you are ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 325ºF (163ºC). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat, and set aside.
  • Place the granulated sugar in a bowl, and set aside.
  • Pull off pieces of dough, and roll into balls about 1" in diameter, then roll in granulated sugar, and place on the prepared baking sheet. Bake cookies until the surfaces crack slightly, about 10-12 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Store cookies covered tightly at room temperature up to 5 days. Cookies freeze well, up to 3 months. Rolled cookie dough freezes well, up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator, then roll in sugar just before baking.

Notes

  1. Dutch processed cocoa: you may also use regular unsweetened cocoa powder or unsweetened dark cocoa powder.
  2. Semi-sweet chocolate: you may also use semi-sweet chocolate chunks and give them a rough chop.
Adapted from Martha Stewart
Did you make this recipe?Mention @freshaprilflours on Instagram or tag #freshaprilflours!

Nutrition Disclosure

All nutritional values are approximate and provided to the reader as a courtesy. Changing ingredients and/or quantities will alter the estimated nutritional calculations.

Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 122kcal | Carbohydrates: 17g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 8mg | Sodium: 74mg | Potassium: 95mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 93IU | Vitamin C: 0.01mg | Calcium: 15mg | Iron: 1mg

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6 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    These cookies are amazing!! My family loved them and devoured them within two days. I will definitely be making these again! Thanks for the great recipe Lynn!

  2. 5 stars
    Unbelievable cookies! You said it right-appreciating ginger is a big part of enjoying this cookie. Ginger and chocolate play so nicely off of one another! One of the tips you gave me in person was really sticking with chocolate chunks, and you are absolutely right-I made 3 batches of them this year and I chunked my own chocolate for 2.5 of those batches (ran out, whoops!). What a difference! Incredibly happy to have this cookie in your line-up! Thank you for Lynn-spiring it!

  3. 5 stars
    These cookies were so tasty! Coming from someone who is NOT a baker, the recipe was super easy to follow and they turned out great with such warm, cozy flavors, perfect for the holidays! Definite recommend giving them a try!