Chewy Chocolate Chip Ginger Cookies ~ these spiced molasses cookies have been upgraded with a bit of dark chocolate for a ‘best of all worlds’ holiday cookie.
If you’re a dedicated chocolate chip cookie lover then you probably don’t get too excited about holiday cookies. I get it, there’s a lot of powdered sugar, nuts, and spices going on in baking right now,, but not so much chocolate. I’m a bit of a chocoholic myself, so don’t worry, I’ve got your back. Today I’ve combined my favorite Chewy Ginger Cookies with my Soft Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies and the result is the perfect holiday cookie with a little something for all of us.
Spice lovers will love the chewy molasses cookie with that thin crisp crust, and chocolate lovers are gonna be all over the dark chocolate chunks (I popped extra into the surface of every cookie before it bakes!)
These cookies will add a bit of oomph to a classic holiday collection. The molasses keeps them moist and chewy for days, and they can be frozen if you’re a make-ahead type.
I’ve been making this base dough for years, it’s easy to mix up and easy to work with. I like to use my 1 1/4 inch cookie scoop to portion out the balls of dough, that way they all bake up in a uniform size.
The key to the voluptuous look of these cookies is simple ~ don’t let any cookie go into the oven without a few extra chips pushed into the top. You won’t regret this extra little step ๐
As the cookie spreads out in the oven the chips that you popped in will stay front and center and give the cookies an irresistible look. I recommend doing a test cookie or two before committing the whole batch to the oven. This helps you see how your oven performs. You may need to adjust the cooking time accordingly.
tvfgi recommends: a sturdy set of scoops
These scoops are some of the most used tools in my kitchen, they’re in constant use for cookies, meatballs, truffles, and ice cream, etc. I use them to portion out batter for muffins and cupcakes too. A set of 3 or 4 scoops will cover you for all needs.
Chewy Chocolate Chip Ginger Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 sticks, 3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar, plus 1/2 cup for rolling
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup molasses, regular molasses, don't buy blackstrap
- 2 and 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp powdered ginger
- 1/4 tsp cloves
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp allspice
- 1 cup dark chocolate chips, plus extra for adding just before baking
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F
- Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. I do this in a stand mixer but you can use hand held beaters as well.
- Beat in the egg and molasses.
- Whisk the flour, baking soda, and spices together and add slowly to the bowl. Mix gently until the dough comes together. You can finish bringing it together with a large spoon. Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Form or scoop small balls, I like to use my 1 1/2 in cookie scoop, but you can also use a tablespoon. I like to push in a few extra chocolate chips to the top of the dough ball.
- Roll in a small bowl of granulated sugar to coat. Chill the balls in the freezer for about 5-8 minutes.
- Bake on an un-greased baking sheet, 2 inches apart, for 9-10 minutes. I always do a test cookie or two to see how my oven performs. The cookies will look puffed and slightly underdone, but they will firm up (and develop those gorgeous wrinkles) as they cool.
- Let them cool slightly on the pan before transferring to a rack.
Nutrition
I’ve made these several times over the past couple of years and each and every single time they’ve been so well received. I love anything gingerbread and the chocolate addition reminds me of a lot of German Christmas bakes and cakes. Delicious! The only adaptation I make is adding a little extra ground ginger because I love the heat it brings.
This year my husband took them into work and I think the most common response was ‘OMG, these are amazing!’. Thirty cookies disappeared in one day. Thank you, as always, for excellent and fool-proof recipes.
Made these to freeze most for Christmas cookie boxes in a couple weeks – but couldn’t resist baking a few up. These. Are. Delicious. 100%.
This is without a doubt the best cookie recipe I’ve ever found. My family was getting bored with the usual chocolate chip recipe, and because its getting wintery I thought I’d give this a go. I’d run out of baking soda so substituted with baking powder. This resulted in a fudgy texture which I think works really well with all those christmassy flavors. Thanks so much Sue, I’ll be making these for years to come!
Hello Sue, I saw this recipe and I love to try it, but in my country there is no molasses on the supermarket for me to buy. Apparently people here just use it to feed cattle. What ingredient can you recommend for me to use to replace it? I’m dying to try this cookies!
just made these this morning. because i have no will power. They are so good. I am a fan of anything ginger, wasn’t sure I would like the chocolate chips in them but were perfect.
First Christmas cookie of the season, or maybe thanksgiving cookie. thanks for sharing.