Chocolate and ginger belong together. And these chocolate ginger cookies are solid proof of it. The little bit of help they get from cinnamon and clove just make the pairing even more heartwarming.
The cookies may not hold the pretty label in the traditional way, but they sparkle with a rustic charm that screams Christmas!
And, no, I don’t take credit for the combination. The cookie recipe is from an old, well-worn book that I bought about 15 or 18 years back. I dusted it off this season because I wanted to make cookies with a little bit of grown up taste.
The sharp zing of vibrant spices, the intense chocolatey savor of cocoa, and the crunch of the sugar was exactly what I wanted. That’s why I made double dough and put half of it in the freezer.
How to make chocolate ginger cookies?
The original chocolate ginger cookies use molasses. I didn’t want to invest in a prohibitively expensive bottle just for one recipe. So, I made do with honey.
It’s a more floral but decent substitute for the sweetener. But if it’s authenticity you want (or a deeply sweet tinge to the cookies), stick to molasses.
- Start by lightly beating room temperature butter with raw sugar.
You don’t need an electric beater. A metal whisk will work just fine as you need the ingredients well-combined, not beaten to a cotton cloud.
- Add in the honey and beat for another minute.
- In a separate bowl, sift all-purpose flour and baking soda.
- Whisk in cocoa powder, cinnamon powder, clove powder, and ginger powder.
- Add the butter-honey-sugar mixture to the dry ingredients and, with a spatula, bring the dough together.
Quick note:
It’s an eggless chocolate ginger cookie recipe. You will need milk to bind the dough together. Add it one tablespoon at a time till you form a flattish disc.
Baking the chocolate ginger cookies
You can’t bake the dough right away. It needs to be chilled. While your oven preheats, wrap the dough and refrigerate it for 20 to 30 minutes.
- Once the dough is cooled, divide it into equal-sized balls.
- Roll in raw sugar.
- Then bake till you see the top crackling, crinkling, and cracking beautifully (about 15 mins).
Because the ginger cookies spread as they bake, you will need to leave gaps on the tray. I made them in two batches to make sure they had enough space.
- Let them cool on the tray for a few minutes as they are very soft right out of the oven.
- Then transfer onto a wire rack.
- Enjoy a cup of tea while they cool completely and firm up into chewy, crunchy goodness.
Variations of the recipe
I love adding my own twists to most recipes. In case you want to customize these chocolate ginger cookies, go ahead and:
- Leave the cocoa powder and make traditional ginger cookies.
- Add more ginger for that warm, fiery punch. After a taste test, I realized I should have added freshly grated ginger to the dough to really make the flavor come through.
- Try coffee. Itis always a safe option with ginger and chocolate and takes the taste to the next level.
How to make chocolate ginger cookies with egg?
I choose to make the cookies eggless. You can replace the milk with 1 well-beaten egg. Add it along with the honey.
How to make vegan chocolate ginger cookies?
Molasses is already vegan, so all you require is plant-based butter and milk to make the cookies vegan.
What sugar to use for the cookies?
I used raw sugar in the dough and to coat the cookies in shining drops of dew. But regular, granulated sugar will work perfectly fine.
Serving the chocolate ginger cookies
A cup of coffee. A glass of cold milk. Or a mug of hot cocoa. The chocolate ginger cookies are a fantastic sidekick to them all.
The crunch on the top and the chewiness inside balance the texture and the beautifully ground spices tango with the chocolate deliciously.
I advise doubling the recipe and freezing it because the first batch will be gone in less than a day. Mine did! Make a log out of the dough, wrap it tightly and slide in the freezer. When the mood strikes, simply slice and bake the chocolate ginger cookies.
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📖 Recipe
Chocolate Ginger Cookies
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup ( 150 gms) Butter, softened
- 1 cup ( 170 gms) Raw sugar You can use granulated white sugar too
- 1/4 cup Honey or molasses
- 2 cups ( 270 gms) All-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup ( 30 gms) Cocoa powder
- 1 1/4 tsp Baking soda
- 1.5 tsp Ginger powder
- 1 tsp Cinnamon powder
- 3/4 tsp Clove powder
- 2-3 tbsp Milk
- 1-2 tbsp Raw sugar for coating
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, ginger powder, clove powder, and cinnamon powder.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the softened butter and raw sugar, until well blended.
- Add the honey and mix well.
- Slowly add the dry ingredients and mix with a spatula until well incorporated. If the dough is too dry, add milk, 1 tablespoon at a time to bind it together.
- Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 170C. Line your baking tray with parchment paper or Silpat.
- Divide the chilled dough into equal-sized pieces. Roll them into balls.
- Lightly roll the dough balls in raw sugar to coat them completely.
- Place the dough balls on the prepared tray. Do leave some space between them as the cookies spread a bit while baking.
- Bake the cookies for 14-15 minutes, until the tops of the cookies are slightly firm at the edges and cracked in the center.
- Let the cookies cool on the tray for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Store in an air-tight container for upto a week. Enjoy!
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