Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies

Last week Sally and I were invited to a Cookie Exchange Party - aka an excuse to take a break from the dreary days of finals and stuff ourselves with delicious cookies.  The cookies we brought were an old favorite, one I always tend to make around holiday season.

 They're a little different from your normal gingerbread cookies in that they aren't the roll-out cookies you'd use a gingerbread man-shaped cookie cutter on (which is good, because we don't have one!) and the ginger/molasses flavors are more intense.  Oh, and there's chocolate in them.  I love this version because it uses fresh ginger (which we usually have) and while it calls for ground ginger as well, I tend to skip it (because I never have any).  These cookies are great straight out of the oven, but even better the next day.

Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies
from Martha Stewart's "Cookies" book, 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 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 tablespoon unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter

1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger

1/2 cup dark-brown sugar, packed

1/4 cup unsulfured molasses

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 cup granulated sugar 

 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. 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.

4. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Roll dough into 1 1/2- inch balls; flatten. Roll in granulated sugar.  Place on cookie sheet, 1 inch apart. Bake until the surfaces crack slightly, 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.