Ginger is a great ingredient to use in winter baking/cooking because it adds a bit of heat to foods along with great flavour. This recipe for very tasty cookies comes from my young friend Ginny who happens to be one of the primary instigators of this blog. When I last made this recipe several years , I had just recovered from a Christmas cookie-baking extravaganza and was barely able to think about cookies without feeling faint. I managed these with ease. This recipe makes approximately 2 dozen of the little beauties.
Ingredients:
- 7 ounces best-quality dark chocolate (or 1 small bag of dark chocolate chips)
- 1 and 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 and 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 heaping tablespoon cocoa powder
- 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
- 1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
- 1/2 cup molasses
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
Line two baking sheets with parchment. Chop chocolate into 1/4-inch chunks; set aside. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and cocoa. In another bowl, beat the butter and grated ginger with an electric mixer until it is fluffy and light in colour. Add the brown sugar and beat until combined, then add the molasses and beat until combined. In a small bowl, dissolve the baking soda in 1 and 1/2 teaspoons boiling water. Beat half the flour mixture into the butter mixture. Beat in the baking soda mixture, then the remaining half of the flour mixture. Finally, mix in the chocolate. Turn the dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap. Pat dough out to about 1-inch thick and seal. Refrigerate the dough until it is firm, approximately 2 hours (or less; I did 15 minutes.) This dough can be frozen.
When ready to bake the cookies, heat your oven to 325 degrees F. Roll the dough into 1 and 1/2-inch balls then roll in granulated sugar and place 2-inches apart on the baking sheets. Bake until the surfaces crack slightly, 10-12 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Editorial Note: Chocolate and ginger are flavours that go together surprisingly well.
