Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies

Christmas is almost here and I realized I had not made any gingerbread of any kind! Christmas isn't complete without gingerbread. Growing up, my Dad would make gingerbread houses. He has even won contest with his creations.

I recently won the Martha Stewart's Cookies and the cover features a chocolate gingerbread cookie. I figured I would try it. If you like gingerbread, you will like this cookie. It is soft and gooey.The original recipe calls for fresh ginger. I purchased fresh ginger and I could not find it any where. Sometimes I will put some fresh ginger in the freezer but I had none there either. Why anyone would use fresh ginger in my house is a mystery? I guess it was meant for me to use additional ground ginger.

 Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/4 tsp ground ginger + additional 1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
8 Tbsp (1 stick) of unsalted butter
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup unsulfured molasses
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp boiling water
7 oz. mini chocolate chips
1/4 cup sugar

Directions:

1. In a bowl, sift together the flour, 1 1/4 tsp ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and cocoa. 
2. In the mixer bowl, beat the butter and 1 tsp ground ginger for a few minutes.
3. Add the brown sugar to the butter and beat until fluffy.
4. Add the molasses and beat until incorporated.
5. In a cup, dissolve the baking soda with the boiling water.
6. In the butter mixing bowl, add half of the flour mixture then the baking soda water. 
7. Add the remaining flour and mix well. 
8. Stop the mixture and fold in the chips.
9. Place the batter onto plastic wrap and pat into 1 inch thickness. 
10. Wrap the batter tight and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or over night.
11. Remove dough from the refrigerator and roll the dough into 1 1/2 inch balls. 
12. Place the dough back into the refrigerator for an additional 20 minutes.
13. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 325 degrees.
14. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
15. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll the dough in the sugar to coat. 
16. Place onto the lined baking sheet about 3 inches apart.
17. Bake the cookies for 5 minutes and then rotate the baking sheet.
18. Bake the cookies another 5-7 minutes. The top of the cookies should just begin to crack.
19. Let the cookies cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
20. Allow the cookies to cool completely.

Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart's Cookies Cookbook.

When I was in Germany, there were booths set up that sold just gingerbread heart cookies. The cookies were hung on strings and had sayings in the middle of them. I purchased three and brought them home for my children. Here is a photo of one of the cookie booths I saw.

Did you already know...............
-Sussigkeiten means sweets.
-The gingerbread heart cookies are also called Lebkuchen Hearts.
-The Lebkuchen Hearts are given as gifts to tell someone how you feel about them like "Ich liebe Dich" which means I love you.
-The Merriam-Webster definition listed Pfefferkuchen as gingerbread.