[Cookie 003] Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies

Hi.

So, basically, here's the deal. These cookies rocked. Severely. I know they are only the 3rd cookie I have blogged about, but so far they earn the coveted 1st place blue ribbon in my heart. But don't take my word for it, some of my (highly respected) friends coined these cookies as "magical" and begged me to make them again, essentially urging me to abandon my task of only baking each cookie once (part of my effort towards making every cookie from this book). Yeah. That good.

Granted, you do have to work for it. There is a lot of waiting around in this recipe: lots of chilling and rechilling, which can lead to impatient guests who take their crankiness out on you for inviting them over and not actually supplying any cookies. What can I say, I didn't really read the recipe in advance, so my friends only got bits of cookie dough to munch on and had to come back the following day (after the dough had chilled) in order to get the highly anticipated cookies. But it was worth it, they say. I have to agree.

One of the best parts of this recipe was having to roll the balls of uncooked dough in granulated sugar before baking. This gives the cookie an AMAZING texture once baked: crystalized outsides, crunchy edges, and soft, chewy, delicious insides. One bite, and you'll get what I mean. And although it is extremely tempting to eat a cookie as soon as the tray comes out of the oven (and you should), I recommend saving a few to eat after they have cooled and set a bit. The chewiness really gets better after they have had time to harden up a bit.

Next time I want to use much higher quality cocoa, and I actually didn't put any freshly grated ginger in these (yeah I know, I suck), but they still tasted gingery and delicious.

Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies
Makes 2 dozen

Ingredients

• 7 ounces best-quality semisweet chocolate
• 1 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
• 1/2 cup dark-brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup unsulfured molasses
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

1. Chop chocolate into 1/4-inch chunks; set aside. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and cocoa.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and grated ginger until whitened, about 4 minutes. Add brown sugar; beat until combined. Add molasses; beat until combined.
3. In a small bowl, dissolve baking soda in 1 1/2 teaspoons boiling water. Beat half of flour mixture into butter mixture. Beat in baking-soda mixture, then remaining half of flour mixture. Mix in chocolate; turn out onto a piece of plastic wrap. Pat dough out to about 1 inch thick; seal with plastic wrap; refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours.
4. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats. Roll dough into 2-inch balls; place 2 1/2 inches apart on baking sheets. Refrigerate 20 minutes. Roll dough balls in granulated sugar and return to baking sheets. Transfer to oven and bake until surfaces crack slightly, about 18 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

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{End Results}
Baking Difficultly: 2/5
Ingredient Accessibility: 4/5
Tastiness: 5/5
Attractiveness: 4/5
Is it worth it?: DO IT!