Chewy Chocolate Ginger Cookies
Having family friends on the east coast meant that Vermont was always a favorite vacation spot for my family. On one of the trips when I was seven or eight, our friends made some delicious, egg free gingerbread cookies that were safe for me. A few weeks ago, Daniel asked me to make some gingersnaps. The first thing that came to mind was the Chewy Chocolate Ginger Cookies I ate fifteen years ago in Brattleboro, VT. Thankfully our friends still had the recipe, so I baked a batch last weekend and they were just as good and cozy as I remembered!
Ingredients for Chewy Chocolate Ginger Cookies
Here’s a list of everything you’ll need to make a scrumptious batch of these cookies, for a soul-warming treat this January.
- Dark chocolate chips
- Whole wheat pastry flour
- The Spice House Ginger (ground)
- The Spice House Cinnamon (ground)
- The Spice House Nutmeg (ground)
- The Spice House Cloves (ground)
- Cocoa powder
- Salted Irish butter (softened)
- Fresh ginger (peeled and minced)
- Chai tea extract (or vanilla or cinnamon)
- Dark brown sugar
- Unsulfured molasses
- Baking soda
- Boiling water
- Granulated sugar
Baking Soda Egg Replacer
My most loved egg replacer for cookies is softened cream cheese. It works very well while also adding richness to the cookies. However this recipe uses baking soda instead. The most common way to use it is by dissolving one teaspoon of baking soda with a tablespoon of vinegar to make one egg (as used in these chocolate cupcakes) however different recipe use different ratios. In this case, I use a teaspoon of baking soda and one and a half teaspoons of boiling water, but in my Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookies, I use a teaspoon of baking soda with quarter cup of boiling water. It really just depends on the type of recipe.
How to Make Chewy Chocolate Ginger Cookies
Start by lining two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats and set aside. Then, in a medium bowl, whisk the whole wheat pastry flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and cocoa powder. Set this aside also.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, fresh ginger, and chai tea extract on high speed until light and fluffy. It will take about four minutes. Every minute or two, you should scrape down the sides of the bowl so that it all gets beaten evenly. Then add the brown sugar and beat in on medium speed until combined.
Scrape down the sides again and add the molasses and beat until combined. Then decrease speed to low and add half of the flour mixture. Dissolve the baking soda in the boiling water and add it to the mixer bowl. Scrape down the sides of the bowl once more and add the remaining flour mixture. When it is just mixed in, fold in the chopped chocolate.
Turn the dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap. Flatten the dough until it is about an inch thick before wrapping it and refrigerating for about two hours.
When the time is up, preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Taking two tablespoons of dough at a time, roll it into balls and dip each one in a small bowl of granulated sugar. Place the cookies on the baking sheets with about two inches between each cookie. Bake for about 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven at let cool before transferring the cookies to a cooling rack.
I hope you enjoy these festive Chewy Chocolate Ginger Cookies! Be sure to leave a rating below and let me know what you think in the comments. Happy baking!